Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera will no longer return for ‘Scream 7’ after Palestine-Israel social media controversy

Leading Latina actresses Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera have officially exited the Scream franchise after a controversy involving a pro-Palestinian social media post by Barrera last week.

On November 21, Spyglass Media made an announcement regarding the 33-year-old Mexican actress, stating that Barrera had been fired from the Scream sequeldue to an Instagram post, which they had perceived as anti-Semitic. Less than a day later it was announced that Ortega would also not be returning for Scream 7 due to a “scheduling conflict.”

Fans quickly cast doubt on claims that Ortega’s departure was unrelated to Barrera’s removal from the series, and many applauded Ortega for leveraging her star power to support a fellow Latina. The two actresses played sisters in Scream 6, but are also known to be good friends in real life. Barrera and Ortega’s on-screen chemistry and popularity with audiences are largely credited with reviving the horror franchise. Scream 6 was considered a blockbuster success, grossing $108.2 million at the U.S. box office and $169 million worldwide.

In the last month, Barrera uploaded multiple stories to Instagram, calling out the Israeli government for the violence enacted on Palestinian civilians. In one story Barrera states, “Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp. Cornering everyone together, with nowhere [sic] to go, no electricity no water … People have learned nothing from our histories. And just like our histories, people are still silently watching it all happen. THIS IS GENOCIDE & ETHNIC CLEANSING.”

Following Barrera’s firing, Spyglass 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.”

Some have called out the production company for its mishandling of the situation, pointing out that Barrera had previously also made social media posts calling for an end to violence against both Palestinians and Israelis. The actress even followed up her original statement stating that she condemns “hate and prejudice of any kind” and vowed to continue speaking out for people in need.

Barrera wrote an Instagram post following her departure denouncing both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia and reiterating that she condemns “hate and prejudice of any kind against any group of people.” The actress also doubled down on her previous statement, saying that she felt a responsibility to speak out on behalf of those impacted by the war.

“As a Latina, a proud Mexicana, I feel the responsibility of having a platform that allows me the privilege of being heard, and therefore I have tried to use it to raise awareness about issues I care about and to lend my voice to those in need,” she wrote.