Scream fans are planning to boycott the latest horror film instalment after actress Melissa Barrera was dropped from the seventh film for her pro-Palestine social media posts.
The actress, who shot to fame in Lin Manuel Miranda’s movie musical adaptation of In The Heights, has posted support for Gaza online, writing in one Instagram Stories post: “Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp.
“Cornering everyone together, with no where to go, no electricity no water… People have learnt nothing from our histories. And just like our histories, people are still silently watching it all happen. THIS IS GENOCIDE & ETHNIC CLEANSING.”
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Another read: “We come together as artists and advocates, but most importantly as human beings witnessing the devastating loss of lives and unfolding horrors in Palestine and Israel.
“Please join us in demanding that Congress, @POTUS, and other world leaders call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost. We must end the bombing of Gaza, secure the safe release of all hostages, and demand adequate access for humanitarian aid to reach the people that desperately need it.”
Now Spyglass – the company behind the Scream franchise – has issued a statement saying it will not stand for “hate speech”, when contacted about Barrera being dropped from the movie. The statement read: “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.”
Filming on Scream 7 hasn’t yet started amid the writers’ and actors’ strikes, with several delays hitting the project. Filmmaker Christopher Landon only said: “This is my statement: [broken-heart emoji] Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make.”
Barrera has starred in both Scream and Scream VI, as Sam Carpenter – helping both projects score $137.7million and $168.9million respectively.
Now fans are threatening to boycott the film entirely, with one X user writing: "The rest of the scream 7 cast has the chance to do the coolest s**t in recent memory and walk straight off that project in solidarity."
Someone else said: "If Melissa isn’t going to be in Scream 7 then wrap it up. We don’t want it. First the studio doesn’t pay Neve what she’s worth, and now they’re booting Melissa because she is so vocal with her support of Palestine. KEEP. YOUR. MOVIE. AND. SHOVE. IT."
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It comes as actress Susan Sarandon has been dropped from her talent agency after speaking at a pro-Palestine rally at the weekend. The Oscar-winner encouraged attendees to support Palestine, stating: “People are questioning, people are standing up, people are educating themselves, people are stepping away from brainwashing that started when they were kids.”
She thanked “the Jewish community who’s come out to have our backs” and added: “There are a lot of people afraid of being Jewish at this time, and are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country.”
Now Hollywood talent agency UTA has dropped her from their books, one spokesperson confirmed to Deadline.
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