Melissa Barrera dropped from ‘Scream VII’ after pro-Palestinian posts

Actor Melissa Barrera is no longer appearing in the upcoming horror franchise film “Scream VII” after the actor shared pro-Palestinian statements on social media that some believed crossed a line into antisemitic territory, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly.

“Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp,” she wrote in one post on Instagram stories that was cited by the Hollywood Reporter, which earlier reported Barrera’s exit from “Scream VII.” “Cornering everyone together, with nowhere to go, no electricity no water … People have learned nothing from our histories. And just like our histories, people are still silently watching it all happen. THIS IS GENOCIDE & ETHNIC CLEANSING.”

Barrera’s representatives did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday. Spyglass, which is producing the “Scream” sequel, told Variety that it has “zero tolerance for antisemitism.”

“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,” a Spyglass spokesperson told Variety.

The Writers Guild of America decided not to weigh in on the issue because there was a lack of consensus among its members. That inaction upset some Jewish writers who felt the union should issue a statement following Hamas’s deadly Oct. 7 attack in Israel.

At Century City-based Creative Artists Agency, a prominent agent, Maha Dakhil, resigned her board seat and stepped back from her role as co-head of the motion picture department after she was criticized for sharing a social media post that accused Israel of genocide. She deleted her post and later apologized. Still, Oscar-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin left her for rival agency WME