Actress Melissa Barrera is making a comeback in the entertainment industry after being fired from the Scream 7 horror film three years ago for supporting the pro-Palestinian movement, according to a new interview published by Variety magazine.
After Israel began bombing Gaza in retaliation for the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by the Palestinian group Hamas that killed more than 1,000 Israelis, Barrera began posting messages in support of Palestinians in Gaza.
She took to Instagram, calling for peace and criticizing the Israeli government for killing innocent Palestinian civilians, and compared Gaza to a concentration camp. Barrera also posted fundraising links to Palestinian human rights organizations and shared articles by Holocaust scholars accusing Israel of committing genocide.
Hollywood bigwigs took offense to Barrera's pro-Palestinian messages, labeling them as antisemitic, and she was fired from her lead role in Scream 7 and let go from her talent agency, WME.
The production company behind the Scream films, Spyglass Media Group, issued a statement to Variety Magazine shortly after Barrera’s firing.
"Spyglass’ stance is unequivocally clear: We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech," it said.
Barrera told Variety that she is still struggling to this day to try and comprehend what happened to her.
"I mean the people that accused me of being antisemitic, and the people that run Spyglass. And they’re wrong. Just factually wrong," she said.
"For me, I was like, 'Wait. I’m trying to call out something that is severely, severely wrong and evil, and I get punished for it. I get everything taken from me. What is the lesson I’m supposed to learn?'" Barrera continued. "I was even questioning God: 'What are You trying to teach me? Because I don’t understand why the ones that are trying to do the right thing are getting punished, and the people that are like la-la-la-la-la continue to rise. I don’t understand this game. What is this?!' It was a rude awakening."
Barrera's response to Spyglass' claims of "antisemitism" and "incitement of hate" was the same immediately after being fired in 2023 for those allegations.
"I believe a group of people are not their leadership and that no governing body should be above criticism," she said at the time. "I pray day and night for no more deaths, for no more violence and for peaceful co-existence. I will continue to speak out for those that need it most and continue to advocate for peace and safety, for human rights and freedom. Silence is not an option for me."
But Hollywood went silent on Barrera.
In the year following her firing, she was not cast in any productions, and all of her offers completely dried up, according to Variety. She received few messages of support from fellow actors and members of the entertainment business and was in a dark place, overcome by the notion that she had lost the thing she loved most.
The actress, who grew up in Mexico dreaming of making it to Hollywood by paying her dues working in telenovelas, had gotten the rug pulled out from underneath her feet for speaking out about a human right cause she passionately believed in.
"The specifics of my situation were like a perfect storm. I’m a woman of color in this industry. I’m 'on the rise,' but I don’t have a big enough name to be untouchable, so they can make an example out of me," Barrera told Variety. "I am well-known enough that you can write articles and create all the clickbait propaganda that you need, but also not big enough that people are going to care enough or revolt or do anything in the industry for me. I was the perfect scapegoat."
Despite her sudden and precipitous fall, Barrera did not give up on her dream of acting and would not let Hollywood defeat her. She is currently featuring in the Broadway musical Titanique as the character Rose, a besieged damsel navigating the chaos on board the Titanic, which earned four Tony Award nominations this year, including Best Musical.
"You’re not going to get super rich or famous doing theater. You do it for the love of the art," Barrera told Variety. "And there are a lot of people that are a lot more vocal about politics on Broadway because the essence of the artist is to be outspoken and to be political. So I love being here at this moment in time and being a part of this community that feels more like home to me."
While Barrera is nowhere near being an A-lister in Hollywood, she told Variety that "she’s never felt happier, more fulfilled, or more at peace" starring on Broadway, which was always a goal of hers.
She has also started her own production company.
"I'm very excited about that," said Barrera.
As for Barrera's take on Scream 7, which grossed $207 million worldwide, according to Variety, making it the highest-grossing installment in the horror franchise?
"The reality is that Scream is always going to be a big part of me because it was two years of my life, it gave me a lot, and I’m grateful," she told Variety. "That hasn’t been soured for me. They don’t have that power."
"And let's be real, the seventh one sucked," she added. "And they have to live with that. The only way they were able to make that movie after what happened was to nostalgia-bait as much as possible."
