ACTRESS Melissa Barrera has been fired from the next Scream film sequel after its makers said her pro-Palestinian social media posts were antisemitic.
The star has posted regularly about the Israel-Gaza conflict, including resharing one post that accused Israel of “genocide and ethnic cleansing”.
Production company Spyglass said it had “zero tolerance for antisemitism”.
Meanwhile, Susan Sarandon has been dropped by her Hollywood agency after speaking at a pro-Palestinian rally.
Neither Sarandon, who starred in Thelma & Louise, nor Mexican actress Barrera have commented on their situations.
However, before her departure was announced, Barrera reshared a quote from another account on her Instagram story which read: “At the end of the day, I’d rather be excluded for who I include, than be included for who I exclude.”
That post has been interpreted by some of her followers as a reference to her being sacked from the film.
Barrera has led the previous two Scream movies and has also starred in the recent screen version of Carmen and the 2021 adaptation of stage musical In The Heights.
Other posts shared by Barrera in recent weeks have included one about distorting the Holocaust “to boost the Israeli arms industry” and another saying Gaza was “currently being treated like a concentration camp”.
In a statement released to Variety, a spokesman for Scream 7 production company Spyglass said its stance was “unequivocally clear”.
It said: “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.”
Christopher Landon, who is expected to direct Scream 7, stylised as Scream VII, appeared to reference the situation on social media.
In a since-deleted post on X, he said: “Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make.”
The Scream franchise was rebooted in 2022, with the fifth film taking $137m (£109m) at the box office and the sixth earning $169m (£135m).
Barrera played Sam Carpenter in the films, the older sister of Tara, played by Jenna Ortega.
The rebooted films also starred Courteney Cox, David Arquette and Neve Campbell, reprising their original roles.
Barrera’s firing followed news that actress Sarandon has been dropped by talent agency UTA.