Melissa Barrera dropped from next 'Scream' sequel after social media posts on Israel-Hamas war

WASHINGTON: Mexican actor Melissa Barrera won't be back for the next 'Scream' sequel, reported People.

According to Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, the actress, 33, will no longer appear in the horror franchise's upcoming seventh film after being removed from the cast owing to her social media remarks about the Israel-Hamas war.

Variety reported that insiders viewed Barrera's comments as antisemitic. "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," Spyglass, the studio behind Scream VII, said in a statement to People. Barrera's representatives did not respond to People's inquiries for comment.

As per People, in one written message from her Instagram Story quoted in the report and circulating social media after the news, Barrera allegedly wrote, "I have been actively looking for videos and information about the Palestinian side for the last 2 weeks or so, following accounts etc. Why? Because Western media only shows the other side. Why they do that, I will let you deduce for yourself."

Barrera played Sam Carpenter in both Scream 2022 and Scream VI this year. Her character was introduced as the daughter of Scream villain Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich). As the new franchise lead, the character was supposed to follow in the footsteps of Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott. Barrera's Sam is older sister to Tera, played by Jenna Ortega. Along with Barrera and Ortega, the Scream VI cast included Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Courteney Cox, and Hayden Panettiere from Scream IV. (While Neve Campbell and David Arquette appeared in the fifth Scream, Campbell did not return for the sixth due to a contractual issue.) The seventh Scream is set to be directed by Happy Death Day director Christopher Landon. Landon is taking over from Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett after their co-directing roles in both Scream (2022) and Scream VI, reported People.