Melissa Barrera Calls ‘Scream’ Franchise Exit a ‘Big Awakening’ in Her Life

“Honestly, I feel like I am finally becoming who I’m supposed to be in life,” Barrera, 33, said to the Associated Press on Friday, January 19. “And the last few months have been a big awakening of that.”

Despite her being let go from the movie, the actress shared that she was “grateful” for “everything that’s happened.”

Barrera, who starred in the latest batch of Scream movies, was let go from the franchise in November 2023. The Hollywood Reporter reported at the time that Barrera’s firing came after she posted pro-Palestine messages on her social media amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Spyglass Media Group, the company behind the films, later clarified their reasons for Barrera’s exit in a statement to Variety, writing, “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.”

Shortly after the news broke, Barrera broke her silence about her exit and cleared the air about her comments.

“First and foremost I condemn Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. I condemn hate and prejudice of any kind against any group of people,” she wrote via her Instagram Story at the time. “As a Latina, a proud Mexicana, I feel the responsibility of having a platform that allows me the privilege of being heard.”

Barrera explained that she wanted to use her platform to advocate for “issues” she cares about and lend her voice “to those in need.”

Meanwhile, Scream VII director Christopher Landon revealed he was not involved in Barrera’s controversial firing.

“This is my statement: ???? Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make,” he shared in a since-deleted post via X. (The following month, Landon announced his own departure the franchise.)

Following Barrera’s exit, it was announced her costar Jenna Ortega would also not return to the Scream movies due to her filming schedule for Wednesday.

While Barrera is no longer involved in the Scream movies, she still maintains a good relationship with her cast. Barrera, Ortega, 21, Skeet Ulrich, Jack Quaid and others were reunited earlier this month at the Evening Before Gala.

“If we’re ever in the vicinity of each other, we always find each other and that’s what happened at that event,” Barrera said to Deadline on Thursday, January 18, of her costars whom she called her “family for life.” “When we find each other, we just want to spend the night with each other, and nothing is ever going to change that.”