It didn’t take long for Melissa Barrera to respond to Spyglass Media firing her from Scream 7 over her social media comments regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She issued this statement just a day later:
“First and foremost, I condemn Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. I condemn hate and prejudice of any kind against any group of people.”
“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.”
“I pray day and night for no more deaths, for no more violence, and for peaceful co-existence. 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.”
Barrera ended her Instagram stories statement with, “Silence is not an option for me.”
Spyglass concluded that Barrera veered into hate speech with her comments, although there’s some debate about that.
Scream 7 faces a total creative overhaul now, with Barrera gone and the sudden exit of her co-star, Jenna Ortega, over scheduling conflicts with her Netflix series, Wednesday. Options on the table are to bring back the franchise’s top scream queens, Neve Campbell and Courtney Cox.
There’s also talk of having Patrick Dempsey, who appeared in Scream 3 way back in 2000, and is experiencing a hot streak with Thanksgiving and being voted People’s Sexiest Man of the Year.
Basically, it’s back to the drawing board for Scream writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick. They wrote the last two chapters that featured Barrera and Ortega, but now it’s time to find Ghostface some new victims. [Variety]
