After being fired from Scream 7 over her pro-Palestine social media posts in 2023, Melissa Barrera is opening up about the fallout she says effectively got her cancelled by Hollywood.
In a new interview with Variety, the actor reflected on being ousted from the horror franchise, stating that because she was “one of the first to speak up [about Palestine], to this day there are still a lot of people in the industry who have a personal grudge against me”.
The actress — who is currently playing the lead in the Broadway musical Titanique — also took aim at her former castmates who returned for the latest Scream film, saying they “crossed the picket line” after her exit.
“I think they all are [crossing the picket line] and they have to live with that,” she said. “The only way they were able to make that movie after what happened was to nostalgia-bait as much as possible.”
When the interviewer opined that Scream 7 “sucked”, Barrera agreed: “I know. And I think they lied about the numbers. I don’t think it made that much money”.
Following the release of the latest flick, it was reported that the movie broke franchise records with a USD$64.1 million domestic opening (AUD$88.3 million), becoming the highest-grossing debut in the series. As a result, an eighth film is already in the works.
She went on to discuss how being fired for supporting Palestine impacted both her career and her mental health.
“When you’re doing something that feels like it’s the right thing to do, and then you’re punished for it, it really f**ks with your head,” she said.
“For me, I was like, ‘Wait — I’m trying to call out something that is severely, severely wrong and evil, and I get punished for it. I get everything taken from me. What is the lesson I’m supposed to learn?’ I was even questioning God: ‘What are you trying to teach me? Because I don’t understand why the ones that are trying to do the right thing are getting punished, and the people that are like la-la-la-la-la continue to rise. I don’t understand this game. What is this?!’ It was a rude awakening.”
Back in 2023, reports emerged that Melissa Barrera had been fired from the production of Scream 7 over pro-Palestine social media posts. Shortly after, Jenna Ortega — who played Barrera’s on-screen sister in the franchise’s previous two films — also exited the sequel. In 2025, Ortega clarified that her departure “had nothing to do with pay or scheduling”, adding that the project “was all kind of falling apart”.
“The specifics of my situation were like a perfect storm. I’m a woman of colour in this industry. I’m ‘on the rise’, but I don’t have a big enough name to be untouchable, so they can make an example out of me,” Barrera continued.
“I am well-known enough that you can write articles and create all the clickbait propaganda that you need, but also not big enough that people are going to care enough or revolt or do anything in the industry for me. I was the perfect scapegoat.”
She went on to praise other Hollywood stars who have been brave enough to support Palestine, though she noted that not everyone has experienced the same career repercussions that she has.
“I love seeing Javier [Bardem]. And Javier has been vocal about Palestine forever,” she said.
“It’s funny. I thought, ‘Everyone must be getting affected, I’m sure’. But I have a friend who works closely with Artists for Ceasefire who has access to a lot of these artists, and she gave me the real and said, ‘No Melissa, they have not been affected at all’. And so that’s why they’re able to be so vocal. So, I thought, ‘It must be nice to be able to speak your mind and not have to suffer any consequences’. But we do need their voices.
“Susan Sarandon was someone who’s been affected by this, and she’s been super supportive of me. She came to the opening of Titaníque. She’s a f***ing icon. I love her. She’s such a good role model. But now I’m here. And I’m so happy.”
She also noted that she’s “kept track of the people who vocally came out and said something to defend me” during the Scream backlash, including Sarandon, Tatiana Maslany, Hannah Einbinder and Poppy Liu.
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