Melissa Barrera recalls how she felt after being fired from Scream VII over her comments on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
In a new interview, the Your Monster star said she had a difficult time during that period and said big acting offers diminished due to the backlash.
“It was quiet for like 10 months,” Barrera told The Independent about her acting jobs. “I was still getting offers for small things here and there – I’m not going to lie and say there was nothing – but [the message] was, ‘Oh, she probably doesn’t have work, she’ll say yes to anything.’”
On how she felt during that period, the singer and actress said, “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.”
Barrera was slashed from reprising her role of Sam Carpenter in a third film after she took to social media to call for a ceasefire. The production company behind the film, Spyglass Media Group, said in a statement that they had “zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form” and dropped her.
Soon after, Jenna Ortega would also leave the film, citing scheduling conflicts with her Netflix series Wednesday.
Scream 7 is now moving forward. OG star Neve Campbell is reprising her role of Sidney Prescott, and Kevin Williamson is directing the slasher.
Barrera also commented on the “factions” that have been created by new Scream fans and OG Scream fans.
“I think there have always been Scream factions,” Barrera told the publication laughing. “There are always going to be people that love you and people that hate you, and people that are open to a story continuing, and people that think that continuing it is ruining it. If they want to go watch the next one? Cool. If they don’t? Also cool.”
She continued, “You just gotta act according to how you preach. And that depends on what you value, what your morals are, and whether you can separate that from art or not. There are people who can’t listen to R. Kelly anymore, or Michael Jackson, or can’t watch Woody Allen films anymore. And then there are people who don’t care.”
