Melissa Barrera Says HerScreamFiring 'Was Shocking' at the Time: 'I'm Very at Peace' Now

Mar. 15, 2025

Melissa Barrera on Jan. 18, 2024.Photo:Dia Dipasupil/Getty

Dia Dipasupil/Getty

Melissa Barrerais reflecting on herfiring from theScreamfranchise.

As Barrera, 33, caught up withRolling Stoneat the 2024Sundance Film Festival, where she premiered her new movieYour Monster, she addressedScreamstudio Spyglass' decision to remove her from the cast of the upcomingScream VIIback in November in response to her social media posts about the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

“I’m not the first person that’s happened to, but it was shocking. I don’t even know what to say,” Barrera told the outlet, as she was asked about Spyglass' statement regarding her firing. In November, the studio said it holds “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.”

“I think everything that happened was very transparent, on both sides, and I know who I am, and I know that what I said always came from a place of love and a place of humanity and a place of human rights and a place of freedom for people, which shouldn’t be controversial,” she said. “It shouldn’t be up for debate.”

“So, I’m very at peace. The people who know me in my family know the truth about me and where I stand, and I think most people in the world also do,” Barrera added.

Brownie Harris / Paramount Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

Elsewhere in the piece, theIn the Heightsstar — who collaborated with her formerScreamdirectors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett on the upcoming horror movieAbigail— shared some hesitancy about speaking further about her firing. “I feel like whatever I say is just going to make it worse,” she toldRolling Stone.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega in 2023’s Scream VI.Philippe Boss/PARAMOUNT

Philippe Boss/PARAMOUNT

With the future ofScreamup in the air, Barrera, Ortega and a number of their costars in 2022’sScreamand 2023’sScream VIheld an impromptu reunion at theMotion Picture & Television Fund’s The Evening Before galaon Jan. 14. Barrera toldRolling Stonemany of the actors just happened to be at the event.

“Listen, Jenna is a good egg. She’s a good person and we love each other,” Barrera said of Ortega, 21, when asked about the younger actor’s reasoning for leaving theScreammovies. “She would show up for me and I would show up for her no matter what.”

source: people.com