Melissa Barrera called out for peace in Palestine and Gaza. She has also criticized the Israeli government for killing Palestinian civilians.
In a recent Instagram post, the Scream and In the Heights star posted daily messages calling for peace, criticizing the Israeli government’s killing of Palestinian civilians, and comparing Gaza to a concentration camp.
She also posted fundraising links to Palestinian human rights organizations and shared articles by Holocaust scholars accusing Israel of committing genocide.
The Hollywood powers that be took notice, and a month later, she was fired from her lead role in “Scream 7” and pushed out of her talent agency, WME. Spyglass, the production company behind the “Scream” films, issued the following statement to Variety at the time about Barrera’s firing:
“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.”
Barrera rejected Spyglass’s claims of “antisemitism” and the “incitement of hate,” responding: “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 who need it most and continue to advocate for peace and safety, for human rights and freedom. Silence is not an option for me.”
For nearly a year after her firing, Barrera’s offers completely dried up. Few messages of support came. She was in a dark place, overcome by the notion that she’d lost the thing she loved most, the thing she’d dreamed about as a child growing up in Mexico and during the years spent cutting her teeth in telenovelas.
Though she stated “she’s never felt happier, more fulfilled, or more at peace” starring on Broadway, which was always a goal of hers, she’s still struggling to make sense of what happened to her. “I feel like I have this fatal flaw where I think I can do anything,” offers Barrera. “It’s my biggest strength, and it’s my biggest weakness at the same time.” In a detailed interview with Variety, Barrera opened up about her cancellation and the long road back.
I know! It was my biggest dream to be on Broadway. I’ve wanted to be on Broadway since I was probably 12. It’s literally insane. I begged my parents to see the national tour of “Wicked” when it went to Houston, and I convinced my mom to let me and my friends go to McAllen, Texas, to see the non-equity national tour of “Rent.” I was a huge fan of musicals.
The pessimistic side of me was having those thoughts, but the optimistic side of me was like, “Fuck no. I’m sure the tide will turn.” And it has. But because I was one of the first to speak up, to this day, there are still a lot of people in the industry who have a personal grudge against me.
And it was widely misreported what you’d posted. To this day, nearly every article about your firing states that you’d shared a Jewish Currents story on social media alleging the Israeli government was “distorting the Holocaust to boost the Israeli arms industry,” labeling it antisemitic. But in that story, written by Israeli Holocaust scholar Raz Segal, he writes, “I have written about settler colonialism and Jewish supremacy in Israel, the distortion of the Holocaust to boost the Israeli arms industry,” etc.
He was listing previous stories he’d written, not discussing the current situation. And the actual story Segal was referencing in The Nation was about how the Israeli government allowed Bulgaria to whitewash their WWII history to secure an arms deal with the country. Those people still deny that what’s going on is a genocide. So, we’re never going to see eye to eye on that.
I mean the people who accused me of being antisemitic, and the people who run Spyglass. And they’re wrong. Just factually wrong. It’s been rather gendered as far as the people who’ve had to face repercussions for speaking out against Israel. You were fired from “Scream” and essentially blacklisted. Susan Sarandon was dropped by her talent agency, Maha Dakhil resigned from the board of CAA, and Ms. Rachel is constantly under attack. Why are mostly women facing repercussions for this?
I have my theory as to why that happens, but one of the reasons that I wanted to do theater in 2026 is because I needed a break from all the bullshit that is Hollywood, and I mean specifically Hollywood, not the film or television industry at large. I needed a break because I’m still blocked from certain places to this day. I only have a myopic vision of my own life, but I don’t think anyone in the entertainment industry was affected the way that I was. I was looking at the promotional poster for this new show, “The Sweetest Kill,” and the tagline said, “She knew the cost. She did it anyway.” And I was like, “That’s me.” I became the face of it, and I didn’t want that, nor should I have been.
The specifics of my situation were like a perfect storm. I’m a woman of color 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. 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.
In late 2023, as Israeli bombs decimated Gaza in retribution for the October 7 attacks, actress Melissa Barrera took stock of the carnage and spoke out.