Major controversy hit the “Scream” franchise last year when lead actress Melissa Barrera was fired from the franchise following Pro-Palestinian/anti-genocide remarks that the actress made on social media, comments that Spyglass Entertainment viewed as antisemitic. Fans were confused, upset, and backlashed against the move, many angered by the way the series dumped her and then went back to re-casting original franchise stars Neve Campbell and Courtney Cox instead. With her firing in the rearview mirror and a new horror film, “Abigail,” to promote, Barrera is now reflecting on that exit and says she will be much more discerning and mindful about whom she works with and aligns herself with in the future.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Barrera spoke about her very public “Scream” exit, her reaction to the firing, and how the internet responded.
“It was very beautiful, very unexpected,” she said of how many franchise fans supported her. “Obviously, I just didn’t know what the reaction was going to be. Seeing the love and the support from the fans, the people that understand that it’s bigger than a movie — what’s happening is not just about a movie, it’s something deeper — I’m very grateful.”
While Barrera didn’t address Spyglass and their decision directly, she did seem to throw a little shade at the company, noting how she would have to be more judicious about the kinds of people or studios she works with.
“I’m not opposed to anything. I am at a point in my life where I do feel a little bit more like I need to know that the people that I’m working with are people that I’m aligned with spiritually and morally. So that’s important to me now more than ever.”
While Barrera is diplomatic about it, clearly, the actress feels burned by her experience. While it felt like a chaotic time to speak, Barrera’s comments at the time, in retrospect, were just supporting the suffering children of Gaza and decrying the violence, which was spun into antisemitism as part of the studio’s PR rationale for removing Barrera from their horror film. One would assume Barrera won’t ever work with Spyglass again following the messy exit of “Scream 7” and how the company fumbled its response.
Following three collaborations in a row with Radio Silence filmmakers Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin—two “Scream” movies and the upcoming “Abigail”— she may have found a permanent home working with them.
“I’m so happy for Matt and Tyler coming up as directors because they should be the kind of directors that are the norm in Hollywood,” Barrera said, perhaps slightly shading Spyglass again. “Everybody wants to work with them and work with them again.”
However, the actress lamented not getting to play a vampire herself in the film.
“It’s always been my dream to be in a vampire movie,” Barrera told EW the new horror. “The sad thing about it for me was that I was not one of them, but that’s another story. It was literally my biggest frustration. I begged them to make teeth for me. I just wanted the teeth!”
What Barrera does next is a little unclear, but the future seems bright for the actress, and her next movie, “Abigail,” slashes onto the big screen on April 19.