Melissa Barrera Says Her “Scream” Firing 'Was Shocking' at the Time: 'I'm Very at Peace' Now
"I know that what I said always came from a place of love and a place of humanity and a place of human rights," Melissa Barrera told 'Rolling Stone'
Melissa Barrera is reflecting on her firing from the Scream franchise.
As Barrera, 33, caught up with Rolling Stone at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where she premiered her new movie Your Monster, she addressed Scream studio Spyglass' decision to remove her from the cast of the upcoming Scream VII back in November in response to her social media posts about the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
"I’m not the first person that’s happened to, but it was shocking. I don’t even know what to say," Barrera told the outlet, as she was asked about Spyglass' statement regarding her firing. In November, the studio said it holds "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."
"I think everything that happened was very transparent, on both sides, and I know who I am, and I know that what I said always came from a place of love and a place of humanity and a place of human rights and a place of freedom for people, which shouldn’t be controversial," she said. "It shouldn’t be up for debate."
"So, I’m very at peace. The people who know me in my family know the truth about me and where I stand, and I think most people in the world also do," Barrera added.
Elsewhere in the piece, the In the Heights star — who collaborated with her former Scream directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett on the upcoming horror movie Abigail — shared some hesitancy about speaking further about her firing. “I feel like whatever I say is just going to make it worse,” she told Rolling Stone.
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Barrera's sudden exit from Scream VII was followed by news that her costar in the franchise's most recent two films, Jenna Ortega, also dropped out of the project. One month later, the film's director Christopher Landon announced he was no longer involved with the movie, sharing on X at the time that the film "was a dream job that turned into a nightmare."
With the future of Scream up in the air, Barrera, Ortega and a number of their costars in 2022's Scream and 2023's Scream VI held an impromptu reunion at the Motion Picture & Television Fund's The Evening Before gala on Jan. 14. Barrera told Rolling Stone many of the actors just happened to be at the event.
"Listen, Jenna is a good egg. She’s a good person and we love each other," Barrera said of Ortega, 21, when asked about the younger actor's reasoning for leaving the Scream movies. "She would show up for me and I would show up for her no matter what."
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