“Scream VII” star Melissa Barrera dropped from film after posts about Israel-Hamas war

Production company Spyglass Media Group said it has "zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form."

Melissa Barrera, one of the stars of the fifth and sixth Scream movies, will no longer appear in the seventh installment of the slasher franchise.

The actress has been dropped from Scream VII in the wake of a series of social media posts expressing support for the Palestinian cause and criticizing Israeli actions since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, EW has confirmed. Barrera, 33, has been outspoken about the conflict on Instagram, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and Israel last month and more recently describing Palestine as a "colonized country" and accusing Israeli forces of "genocide & ethnic cleansing" on her Instagram Story. Her most recent story posts about the conflict came Tuesday morning and were still online at the time of publishing.

Spyglass Media Group, which produces the Scream movies, said in a statement Tuesday evening, "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."

Representatives for Paramount Pictures, which distributes the Scream movies, declined to comment. A representative for Barrera didn't immediately respond to EW's request for comment.

Scream VII director Christopher Landon appeared to address Barrera's departure via social media Tuesday afternoon. "This is my statement," he wrote in a post that has since been deleted. "Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make."

The Israel-Hamas war has become an extremely fraught issue in Hollywood; Tuesday also brought the news that Susan Sarandon had been dropped by her talent agency, UTA, after remarks she made at a pro-Palestinian rally in New York. (A UTA spokesperson confirmed to EW that Sarandon is no longer a client.)

Barrera played Sam Carpenter, the older sibling of Jenna Ortega's Tara Carpenter, in both 2022's Scream and this year's Scream VI, emerging as one of the franchise's main stars. Scream VI earned $108 million at the domestic box office and another $60 million in international territories.

Barrera was expected to reprise her role in Scream VII. Her other screen credits include 2021's In the Heights and the TV show Keep Breathing. Landon's previous films include Happy Death Day and Freaky.

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Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.