Actress Fired From ‘Scream’ Franchise for Anti-Israel Posts Says ‘Silence Is Not an Option for Me’

Mexican actress Melissa Barrera has continued to promote accusations that Israel is guilty of genocide and said that she will not stop criticizing the Jewish state during its war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza since being fired from the latest film in the Scream franchise for her social media activity.

Barrera, who was expected to have a starring role in Scream VII, was fired after she uploaded a series of posts on Instagram that described Israel as a “colonized” land and suggested that the Jewish state controls the media. The 33-year-old wrote in one post on her Instagram Story: “Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp. Cornering everyone together, with no where to go, no electricity no water … People have learnt nothing from our histories. And just like our histories, people are still silently watching it all happen. THIS IS GENOCIDE & ETHNIC CLEANSING [sic].”

On Thursday, Barerra shared a number of posts on her Instagram Story about residents in Gaza being displaced because of Israel’s defensive war against Hamas in the Palestinian enclave. She also reposted a screenshot of a message critical of Israel that was originally shared on X/Twitter from an account called “Free Palestine.” The post said, “I will never forget,” and then went on to criticize the United States for sending “billions of dollars to fund a genocide,” allegedly led by Israel, and blasted “the way world leaders watched and did nothing” as atrocities unfolded in Gaza.

The screenshot Barerra shared was taken from an Instagram post that featured a carousel of messages from various X and Instagram users who demonized Israel. Some accused the Jewish state of genocide, occupation, apartheid, and “land theft,” and even called for “every civil institution” to boycott Israel. One X user wanted to boycott books from “Zionist publishers” and said they “don’t need to see any movie that’s lining the pockets of a studio firing people for supporting Palestine.” Another post in the carousel said about Israel: “[It] is a false country like the US built on mass graves of ‘savage natives’ who needed to be exterminated to make way for the democracy & modernity of colonizers … I do not recognize their legitimacy. Jewish *people* have the right to exist, settler-colonies do not.”

In a post on her Instagram Story on Wednesday, hours after her firing was announced, Barrera wrote, “I pray day and night for no more deaths, for no more violence, and for peaceful co-existence. 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.”

The actress added, “Silence is not an option for me.” She also said that she condemns antisemitism and Islamophobia, as well as any kind of hate and prejudice

“As a latina [sic], 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 continued, noting that everyone “deserves equal human rights, dignity, and, of course, freedom.” She also wrote, “I believe a group of people are NOT their leadership, and that no governing body should be above criticism.”

Barrera joined a long list of celebrities who signed an open letter last month, addressed to US President Joe Biden, that called for an immediate ceasefire to end the Israel-Hamas war, a release of the hostages taken by the terrorist organization after its invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, and an end to “the bombing in Gaza.”

It was also announced this week that actress Jenna Ortega has dropped out of Scream VII, but her decision was due to a scheduling conflict. She is set to shoot the second season of the Netflix show Wednesday starting in April. Ortega and Barrera played sisters Tara and Sam Carpenter in the Scream franchise.

The post Actress Fired From ‘Scream’ Franchise for Anti-Israel Posts Says ‘Silence Is Not an Option for Me’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.