Melissa Barrera reacts after being fired from Scream over her pro-Palestine posts

Actress Melissa Barrera has issued a statement for the first time since her exit from the Scream franchise. Barrera was fired by the Spyglass Media Group over her pro-Palestine posts on social media. The production banner deemed the posts as antisemitic. Barrera’s response came on Wednesday afternoon through a post on her Instagram story.

“First and foremost I condemn antisemitism and Islamophobia. I condemn hate and prejudice of any kind against any group of people,” Barrera wrote. “As a Latina, a proud Mexicana, I feel the responsibility of having a platform that allows me the privilege of being heard, and therefore I have tried to use it to raise awareness about issues I care about and to lend my voice to those in need. Every person on this earth — regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or socio-economic status — deserves equal human rights, dignity and, of course, freedom. I believe a group of people are NOT their leadership, and that no governing body should be above criticism.”

Scream actress Melissa Barrera dropped from next film over support for Palestine

“I pray day and night for no more deaths, for no more violence, and for peaceful co-existence,” Barrera’s statement continues. “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.”

Earlier in the month, Barrera had reshared a post accusing Israel of “genocide and ethnic cleansing” as well as a passage from Jewish Currents magazine that accused the Israeli government of distorting “the Holocaust to boost the Israeli arms industry.” 

Spyglass had initially refused to comment on Barrera's statement, however later it clarified that the actress was not fired for her support of the Palestinian cause. Rather, the company interpreted her social media posts as antisemitic.

“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 spokesperson said in a statement.

Barrera was supposed to star in the seventh instalment of Scream after leading the fifth and sixth entries alongside Jenna Ortega. Following Barrera’s firing, Ortega was also confirmed to be leaving the franchise, though sources state that Ortega’s exit is due to a scheduling conflict with production on Season 2 of Wednesday.