Actress Melissa Barrera has reflected on the past year after she was cut from the upcoming Scream VII film for speaking out on the Israel-Hamas war.
"It was the darkest and hardest year of my life, and I had to reevaluate everything," Barrera told The Independent.
"There were times where I felt like my life was over."
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Melissa Barrera has spoken out on being cut from Scream VII last November. (Getty)Barrera starred in the 2022 Scream film as well as 2023's Scream VI as Sam Carpenter, the daughter of villain Billy Loomis, played by Skeet Ulrich.
Then, in October 2023, she reposted an Instagram Story following the October 7 attack perpetrated by Hamas that accused Israel of "genocide and ethnic cleansing."
She was then dropped from the film by Spyglass, the studio behind the latest Scream films, as they released a statement saying, "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."
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The actress starred in both 2022's Scream and 2023's Scream VI. (Paramount Pictures)Overnight, Barrera went from an actress to a cultural icon, becoming almost better known as an advocate for Palestine than for her work in front of the camera.
She released a follow-up statement explaining that she condemns "antisemitism and Islamophobia," adding that she believes "a group of people are NOT their leadership, and that no governing body should be above criticism."
"I will continue to speak out for those that need it most and continue to advocate for peace and safety, for human rights and freedom," she said at the time.
Silence is not an option for me."
But despite the internet's positive response to Barrera's activism, her career took a turn for the worse.
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She says after she was cut, she didn't get any decent offers for months. (Getty)"It was quiet for, like, 10 months. I was still getting offers for small things here and there – I'm not going to lie and say there was nothing," she said.
"But [the message] was, like, 'Oh, she probably doesn't have work, she'll say yes to anything'."
Barrera has recently returned to screens, starring in Horror/Romance film Your Monster.
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