Melissa Barrera Says It’s “So Beautiful” To See Support For Macklemore Speaking Up On Palestine: “I Didn’t Get That When It Happened To Me”

Nearly three years after she was fired from the Scream franchise for speaking up in support of Palestinians, Melissa Barrera sees the tides changing.

The actress recently expressed how “emotional” it made her to see Fennias and Ed Sheeran‘s other openers dropping out of his Loop Tour in support of Macklemore, who was dropped from the tour over his “Free Palestine” remarks.

“It was so beautiful to see Finneas and the band and all the opening acts pulling out in support of Macklemore. It made me emotional,” Barrera told the Associated Press. “You know, I didn’t get that when it happened to me. I didn’t have any of that happen. It was too soon. People were too scared. But it’s good to see that almost three years later, at least things have changed.”

Spyglass fired Barrera in November 2023 over her social media posts on the Israel-Hamas conflict and the “atrocities being committed against Palestinians,” explaining the company has “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.”

Following her ousting, Jenna Ortega also exited the franchise, later noting that the sequel “was all kind of falling apart” without Barrera to play its new “final girl” Sam Carpenter. Director Christopher Landon dropped out of the project as well, citing “highly aggressive and really scary” death threats targeting his children.

Neve Campbell was then brought back to reprise her role as OG “final girl” Sidney Campbell for Scream 7 in March 2024, with original Scream (1996) writer Williamson on board to direct. She previously sat out Scream VI (2023) over the low pay offer.

As the seventh installment of the slasher franchise premiered at Paramount Studios in February, “Free Palestine” protesters lined up outside the entrance to the lot. Back when the first trailer for Scream 7 was released last October, fans quickly began slamming the movie on social media, calling for a boycott.