Melissa Barrera Speaks Out On SCREAM Firing; Doesn't Rule Out Return To The Franchise
Melissa Barrera was the talk of the town for her being fired from the next installment of the SCREAM franchise. Now the actress is coming forward and telling her side of the story for the first time in a new interview.
The reason behind Barrera’s firing was over social media posts she shared in support of Gaza that were deemed to be anti-Semitic in nature.
Studio Spyglass Entertainment would release a statement explaining why they decided to drop her from the film shortly after, citing "rhetoric that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech."
When all this went down, Barrera did release a brief statement on the matter condeming “hate and prejudice of any kind” and promising to “lend my voice to those in need,” but the actress has now addressed the situation in more depth.
“It’s definitely hard, because I was just in such a cloudy state of mind, but I was very fortunate,” Barrera tells THR. “I had a lot of support from the people around me: my team and specifically my publicists — they just carried me.”
Neve Campbell, who decided not to reprise the role of Sidney Prescott for the most recent movie over a pay dispute, recently announced that she will return for Scream VII. Barrera declined to comment on this, but did reveal that she's spoken to co-star Jenna Ortega, who also dropped out of the next film.
“We chatted for a while, and I love her so much. She’s been very supportive of me, and we’re sisters for life.”
RELATED ARTICLE: She's Back!!! Neve Campbell Will Return In 'SCREAM 7' As Sidney Prescott With Kevin Williamson Directing
Other high-profile actors have shown support for Gaza while denouncing Israel's actions and suffered zero consequences, and Barrera believes this comes down to women of color being granted less freedom to express themselves.
“It’s very evident that that’s the case,” she says.
“All I can say is that it is very important for me to raise my voice for those who don’t have one. It seems weird to have a platform and not use it for that.”
In response to reports that she was given a warning from Spyglass to tone down her posts before being let go, Barrera says: “Not at all.”
Barrera has moved past Scream and is now promoting her new horror movie with directors Radio Silence, Abigail, but would she rule out returning to finish Sam Carpenter's story down the line?
“I’ve learned to never say never, but also a lot of things would have to happen for Sam to come back,” she says. “For now, next page, next chapter, and then we’ll see what the future holds.”
So who knows if she’ll be back to face Ghostface one last time but you know horror movies…they sometimes come back!
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