Melissa Barrera’s departure from the Scream franchise was one of the most infuriating and disappointing moments of 2023. Not because of her separating from the cult-classic horror film series, but because of the circumstances that led to it. It is a fact well-known that the actress was fired from the role of Sam Carpenter after making Instagram posts in support of Palestine amid the Israel-Palestine conflict. These posts resulted in her being publically let go as the protagonist of Scream 7.
Spyglass, the studio behind this franchise and her firing, released a statement where they mentioned their reasoning for this, stating that they had zero tolerance for antisemitism. This was quickly followed by Jenna Ortega, who played Barrera’s on-screen sister, to resign as well, under ‘scheduling conflicts’, something that is speculated to be false.
Barrera has finally been given an opportunity to open up about her side of the story in a recent interview. Here, she mentioned how this entire experience was eye-opening for her and also talked about Ortega potentially having followed in her footsteps.
Melissa Barrera’s Firing From Scream Was A Positive Thing For Her
Melissa Barrera has recently given an interview with Rolling Stone as a form of statement for all that transpired between her and the Scream franchise in the last few months of 2023. She started by saying that everything that happened was very eye-opening and surprising for her. She was labeled as guilty of ‘Holocaust distortion’ by Spyglass, which came as a complete shock to the actress. She stated that there was nothing controversial about advocating for and saying the things that she said about Palestine.
“I’m not the first person that’s happened to, but it was shocking,” Barrera told, “I don’t even know what to say. 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. 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.”
She was simply standing up for human rights, further stating that all that she said came from a place of love and compassion. The fact that those behind the Scream franchise referred to this as ‘false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech’ was deeply unsettling for her. She also added that it does not matter to her what the world thinks of her, as long as those close to her understand where her loyalties and beliefs lie.
Melissa Barrera Talks ABout Jenna Ortega Leaving The Franchise
Shifting to another highly talked about subject, Melissa Barrera talked about Jenna Ortega’s departure from the Scream franchise and the timing that it happened around. While there was no official report that stated that her decision was motivated by Barrera’s firing, many sources have suggested it. The actress finally commented on the matter of the Wednesday actress.
“Listen, Jenna is a good egg,” Barrera told. “She’s a good person and we love each other. She would show up for me and I would show up for her no matter what.”
She stated that what Ortega did was very brave and good for her. The two of them share a very close bond and are willing to do anything for each other. She emphasized this, stating that Ortega did not do anything that Barrera, herself, would not have done for her. It is safe to say that she is more than grateful for the Wednesday actress taking as big a step as she did.
