Fans vow to boycott ‘Scream VII’ after Melissa Barrera is dropped over Israel-Hamas war post

22 November, 2023

Melissa Barrera

Scream fans have called for people to boycott the franchise after Melissa Barrera was fired from Scream VII due to posts about the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Barrera, who played Sam Carpenter in 2022’s Scream and sequel Scream VI, was dropped from the upcoming seventh instalment after writing an Instagram post in support of Palestine.

In a post on her Instagram Stories, the Mexican-born actor wrote: “I too come from a colonized country. Palestine WILL be free. They tried to bury us, they didn’t know we were seeds.”

In another post, she added: “Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp. Cornering everyone together, with no where to go, no electricity no water. People have learnt nothing from our histories. And just like our histories, people are still silently watching it all happen. THIS IS GENOCIDE & ETHNIC CLEANSING.”

Scream
Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega in ‘Scream VI’. CREDIT: Paramount

Barrera later claimed there was “censorship” in Western media which “only shows the other side” of the conflict from Israel’s perspective.

After Variety reported Barrera had been “quietly dropped” from the franchise, production company Spyglass confirmed she had been let go due to the posts.

“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,” the Spyglass statement read (via IndieWire).

Christopher Landon, who is set to direct Scream VII, shared a post on X on Tuesday (November 21) regarding the firing, which has since been deleted: “This is my statement: Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make.”

Following the decision, ‘#BoycottScream7’ began trending on X, with many fans vowing to not see the movie when it is released.

Others called for the rest of the Scream cast, including Jenna Ortega who plays Barrera’s on-screen sister Tara, to “walk straight off that project in solidarity”. You can check out reactions below.

Scream star Neve Campbell previously stepped down from the franchise following a pay dispute, with many of her co-stars supporting her decision.

“I felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise,” Campbell said. “It’s been a very difficult decision to move on.”

Scream VII was announced in August, with Landon set to take over directing duties from Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who helmed the fifth and sixth entries.

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