Melissa Barrera on âScreamâ firing: âI will continue to speak outâ

Melissa Barrera has issued her first response regarding her recent exit from the “Scream” franchise. Spyglass Media Group fired the actor, citing her social media activity regarding the ongoing attack on Gaza by Israeli forces; 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.”

Earlier in the month, Barrera 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.” The piece was written by Raz Segal, who directs the Master of Arts in Holocaust and Genocide Studies program at Stockton University.

“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.”

After initially declining to comment on Barrera’s termination, Spyglass later issued a statement to Variety to clarify that the actor was not fired for her support for the Palestinian cause. Rather, the company interpreted her social media posts as antisemitic.

“Spyglass’ stance is unequivocally clear: 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 expected to star in the next “Scream” outing 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.”