"My Life Was Over": Melissa Barrera Reveals the Fallout of Her 'Scream' Firing

The Mexican actress Melissa Barrera is opening up about how she felt after being fired from the Scream franchise over her comments on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

In 2022, Barrera established herself as a scream queen by playing Sam Carpenter in Scream and its 2023 follow-up Scream VI, taking the torch from the original lead, Neve Campbell. This propelled her to new heights, with more roles expected to flood in following Scream.

In October 2023, Barrera took to social media to criticize Israeli policies, referencing genocide and ethnic cleansing. This sparked a huge cultural and political debate, but unfortunately for Barrera, Spyglass terminated her contract, citing “zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form.”

This, of course, completely shattered her plans for her character’s arc in the Scream series and most likely cost her other potential roles as well.

Talking to The Independent, Barrera opened up about the aftermath of the firing:

“It was the darkest and hardest year of my life, and I had to reevaluate everything. There were times when I felt like my life was over. After being dropped from Scream, work more or less evaporated.”

While some boycotted the franchise in solidarity with Barrera, others were all in for Neve Campbell’s return in Scream VII. Reflecting on this divide, Barrera said:

“If they want to go watch the next one? Cool. If they don’t? Also cool.”

Looking back on her time in the Scream franchise, Barrera is grateful for playing Sam Carpenter and for the loyal fanbase the role brought her. However, she admitted to having mixed feelings about the franchise due to that “very sour moment.”

After nearly a year of limited opportunities and lost jobs, Barrera has found her footing again. Her performance in her latest film, Your Monster, has been described as the best of her career.

She recently landed a role alongside Simu Liu in James Wan’s spy series, and she’s also set to star in the western thriller In The Cradle of Granite.