{"id":471617,"date":"2026-05-06T17:43:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T17:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/471617\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T17:43:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T17:43:13","slug":"melissa-barrera-was-canceled-by-hollywood-shes-still-fighting-her-way-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/471617\/","title":{"rendered":"Melissa Barrera Was Canceled by Hollywood. She’s Still Fighting Her Way Back."},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tIn late 2023, as Israeli bombs decimated Gaza in retribution for the Oct. 7 attacks<\/a>, actress Melissa Barrera<\/a> took stock of the carnage and spoke out.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe \u201cScream<\/a>\u201d and \u201cIn the Heights\u201d star posted daily messages to her Instagram calling for peace, criticizing the Israeli government\u2019s killing of Palestinian civilians, and comparing Gaza to a concentration camp. She posted fundraising links to Palestinian human rights organizations and shared articles by Holocaust scholars accusing Israel<\/a> of committing genocide. The Hollywood powers that be took notice<\/a> and a month later, she was fired from her lead role in \u201cScream 7\u201d and pushed out of her talent agency, WME.<\/p>\n

\n\tSpyglass, the production company behind the \u201cScream\u201d films, issued the following statement to Variety<\/a> at the time about Barrera\u2019s firing:<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSpyglass\u2019 stance is unequivocally clear:\u00a0We 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBarrera rejected Spyglass\u2019 claims of \u201cantisemitism\u201d and the \u201cincitement of hate,\u201d responding: \u201cI believe a group of people are not their leadership and that no governing body should be above criticism. 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. Silence is not an option for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFor nearly a year after her firing, Barrera\u2019s offers completely dried up. Few messages of support came. She was in a dark place, overcome by the notion that she\u2019d lost the thing she loved most, the thing she\u2019d dreamed about as a child growing up in Mexico and during the years spent cutting her teeth in telenovelas.<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019m seated across from Barrera, 35, at a bustling restaurant in Manhattan\u2019s Theater District. She\u2019s in a much better place right now, currently featuring in \u201cTitan\u00edque\u201d<\/a> as Rose, the besieged damsel navigating the chaos on board the Titanic and the complicated dynamics of her mother (played by Jim Parsons), the Victor Garber character (Frankie Grande), the Unsinkable Molly Brown (Deborah Cox), and Jack (Constantine Rousouli) and Cal (John Riddle), the two man-children battling for her affection. Oh, and if that weren\u2019t enough, there\u2019s also none other than Celine Dion (Marla Mindelle), who is somehow convinced that she was on the Titanic (!). It\u2019s a wonderfully campy Broadway<\/a> musical that earned four Tony nominations, including Best Musical.<\/p>\n

\n\tThough she says \u201cshe\u2019s never felt happier, more fulfilled, or more at peace\u201d starring on Broadway, which was always a goal of hers, she\u2019s still struggling to make sense of what happened to her.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI feel like I have this fatal flaw where I think I can do anything,\u201d offers Barrera. \u201cIt\u2019s my biggest strength, and it\u2019s my biggest weakness at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn an in-depth interview with Variety, Barrera opened up about her cancellation and the long road back.<\/p>\n

\t\tLast time we spoke in January of 2024<\/a>, we were discussing \u201cYour Monster\u201d at Sundance and how \u2014 like the character you play in that film \u2014 it was your dream to star on Broadway. And now you\u2019re starring on Broadway.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI know! It was my biggest dream to be on Broadway. I\u2019ve wanted to be on Broadway since I was probably 12. It\u2019s literally insane. I begged my parents to see the national tour of \u201cWicked\u201d when it went to Houston, and I convinced my mom to let me and my friends go to McAllen, Texas, to see the non-equity national tour of \u201cRent.\u201d I was a huge fan of musicals.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tConstantine Rousoulis and Melissa Barrera<\/a> in \u201cTitan\u00edque\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEvan Zimmerman for MurphyMade<\/p>\n

\t\tYou were really at the center of a storm when we last spoke. You\u2019d been fired from \u201cScream 7,\u201d and your name was being dragged through the mud. Did you think your career was over?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThe pessimistic side of me was having those thoughts, but the optimistic side of me was like, \u201cFuck no. I\u2019m sure the tide will turn.\u201d And it has. But because I was one of the first to speak up, to this day there are still a lot of people in the industry who have a personal grudge against me.<\/p>\n

\t\tAnd it was wildly misreported what you\u2019d posted. To this day, nearly every article about your firing states that you\u2019d shared a Jewish Currents story<\/a> on social media alleging the Israeli government was \u201cdistorting the Holocaust to boost the Israeli arms industry,\u201d labeling it antisemitic. But in that story, written by Israeli Holocaust scholar Raz Segal, he writes, \u201cI have written about settler colonialism and\u00a0Jewish supremacy in Israel<\/a>, the distortion of the Holocaust to boost the\u00a0Israeli arms industry<\/a>,\u201d etc. He was listing previous stories he\u2019d written, not discussing the current situation. And the actual story<\/a> Segal was referencing in The Nation was about how the Israeli government allowed Bulgaria to whitewash their WWII history to secure an arms deal with the country.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThose people still deny that what\u2019s going on is a genocide. So, we\u2019re never going to see eye to eye on that.<\/p>\n

\t\tWho do you mean when you say, \u201cThose people?\u201d\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI mean the people that accused me of being antisemitic, and the people that run Spyglass. And they\u2019re wrong. Just factually wrong.<\/p>\n

\t\tIt\u2019s been rather gendered as far as the people who\u2019ve had to face repercussions for speaking out against Israel. You were fired from \u201cScream\u201d and essentially blacklisted, Susan Sarandon was dropped by her talent agency, Maha Dakhil was forced to resign from the board of CAA, and Ms. Rachel is constantly under attack. Why are mostly women facing repercussions for this?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI have my theory as to why that happens, but one of the reasons that I wanted to do theater in 2026 is because I needed a break from all the bullshit that is Hollywood \u2014 and I mean specifically Hollywood, not the film or television industry at large. I needed a break because I\u2019m still blocked from certain places to this day. I only have a myopic vision of my own life, but I don\u2019t think anyone in the entertainment industry was affected the way that I was. I was looking at the promotional poster for this new show \u201cThe Sweetest Kill,\u201d and the tagline said, \u201cShe knew the cost. She did it anyway.\u201d And I was like, \u201cThat\u2019s me.\u201d I became the face of it and I didn\u2019t want that, nor should I have been.<\/p>\n

\t\tYour posts didn\u2019t seem incendiary. They criticized the Israeli government for its destruction of Gaza.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThe specifics of my situation were like a perfect storm. I\u2019m a woman of color in this industry. I\u2019m \u201con the rise,\u201d but I don\u2019t have a big enough name to be untouchable, so they can make an example out of me. I am well-known enough that you can write articles and create all the clickbait propaganda that you need, but also not big enough that people are going to care enough or revolt or do anything in the industry for me. I was the perfect scapegoat.<\/p>\n

\t\tDid anyone reach out to support you during that time? At least Jenna Ortega dropped out of \u201cScream.\u201d\t<\/p>\n

\n\t[Shakes head] That\u2019s not the reality of things\u2026<\/p>\n

\t\tReally?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI got some messages of support from people in the industry, but what I found is that private messages with no action mean nothing.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tJenna Ortega<\/a> and Melissa Barrera in \u201cScream VI.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tParamount<\/p>\n

\t\tRight. Why couldn\u2019t they at least send a tweet or have the message be public?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tExactly. And I had faith. I was like, \u201cSomeone is going to reach out to me and help me. It\u2019s just a matter of time.\u201d You know who was the only person? Boots Riley. I love him. He reached out to me ten months later \u2014 I had ten torturous months of uncertainty, and no work, and suffering, and not even knowing if my team was on my side, it was terrible \u2014 and Boots sent me a message in August of 2024 and was like, \u201cI got a part for you in my movie.\u201d And he offered me a part in \u201cI Love Boosters.\u201d And for some reason, once Boots sent me that message, I suddenly had five messages with offers in my inbox. It\u2019s like he flipped a switch. I call him \u201cThe Wizard.\u201d The energy shifted. And I got \u201cThe Copenhagen Test\u201d and did that because it was a longer job and I wanted to work and be back on set, and it was money that I hadn\u2019t made in a while, so I couldn\u2019t do the Boots movie but I credit him because he\u2019s literally the only person in the industry who reached out and said, \u201cLet me help you out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tDo you think there\u2019s been a bit of a sea change in Hollywood around Israel and Palestine<\/a>? \u201cNo Other Land\u201d<\/a> won the Best Documentary Oscar, which was surprising. You have Javier Bardem on red carpets and stages saying, \u201cFree Palestine.\u201d\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI love seeing Javier. And Javier has been vocal about Palestine forever. It\u2019s funny. I thought, \u201cEveryone must be getting affected, I\u2019m sure.\u201d But I have a friend who works closely with Artists for Ceasefire who has access to a lot of these artists, and she gave me the real and said, \u201cNo Melissa, they have not been affected at all.\u201d And so that\u2019s why they\u2019re able to be so vocal. So, I thought, \u201cIt must be nice to be able to speak your mind and not have to suffer any consequences.\u201d But we do need their voices.<\/p>\n

\t\tGoing back to mostly women being targeted over this, I think that\u2019s largely been the case.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tSusan Sarandon was someone who\u2019s been affected by this, and she\u2019s been super supportive of me. She came to the opening of \u201cTitan\u00edque.\u201d She\u2019s a fucking icon. I love her. She\u2019s such a good role model. But now I\u2019m here. And I\u2019m so happy.<\/p>\n

\t\tWere you a fan of the film \u201cTitanic\u201d growing up?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI think I was too young when it came out, so I wasn\u2019t aware of how it was an era. It was probably in middle school where I saw it for the first time. I owned the double-VHS, but I also wasn\u2019t allowed to see it on my own because it had nudity. I wasn\u2019t a huge fan of the movie, but I knew enough about it and knew enough to know that it was a great movie. Plus, they shot it in Mexico! And I\u2019m a huge Kate Winslet fan. I think she\u2019s the greatest. And I saw \u201cTitan\u00edque\u201d twice before. I saw it off-Broadway and I saw it in Toronto while I was shooting \u201cThe Copenhagen Test.\u201d I took my cast to dinner and the show, and we had such a great time. But I never in a million years thought I would be in it.<\/p>\n

\t\tAnd you acted in plays when you were young.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI played basketball and was more of a sports girl growing up but always watched the school musicals wishing I was in them. Eventually, in the eighth grade, I auditioned for the school musical for the first time \u2014 which was \u201cThe Wizard of Oz\u201d \u2014 and convinced my whole basketball team to audition with me. I sang \u201cHappy Birthday\u201d in the audition and got a callback for Dorothy. It was a middle\/high school production, so I was one of the youngest people there. And then they gave the part to a senior, so I was cast as Tree #3 and had one line: \u201cHow do you like them apples?\u201d Not even Tree #1. That was my beginning.<\/p>\n

\t\tI see you\u2019re rocking two anchor necklaces.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThis one was my grandfather\u2019s. My mother gave it to me. It was tucked away, and it\u2019s a Catholic symbol. My mother engraved it with \u201cTitan\u00edque 2026\u201d on the back. And this other anchor, Frankie [Grande\u2019s] mom got it for me for the opening. They\u2019re the most generous people. Ariana [Grande] sent us all makeup and Frankie\u2019s mom got everyone an opening night gift.<\/p>\n

\t\tWith \u201cTitan\u00edque,\u201d it\u2019s a pretty grueling schedule on Broadway. Tons of shows.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019m on stage almost the entire time, and if I\u2019m off-stage, I\u2019m running to my next entrance. It\u2019s been a cool challenge and it\u2019s real athleticism. Broadway performers are athletes. It\u2019s no joke. I have the utmost respect for Broadway performers. And listen, I love this life. It\u2019s the life that I always envisioned for myself. I feel very happy and very fulfilled to be in New York and taking the subway to the theater. Plus, two of my sisters live in New York.<\/p>\n

\t\tThere is a fun nod to \u201cScream\u201d in the musical where a character says to you, \u201cDo you wanna die, Sidney?\u201d\t<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd that was already there, but now it\u2019s funnier because it\u2019s directed at me!<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tMelissa Barrera as Rose in \u201cTitan\u00edque.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEvan Zimmerman for MurphyMade<\/p>\n

\t\tDoes it also feel like you\u2019re reclaiming \u201cScream,\u201d in a way?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tYeah, a little bit. The reality is that \u201cScream\u201d is always going to be a big part of me because it was two years of my life, it gave me a lot, and I\u2019m grateful specifically to Matt [Bettinelli-Olpin] and Tyler [Gillett] who gave me that shot. That hasn\u2019t been soured for me. They don\u2019t have that power.<\/p>\n

\t\tAnd let\u2019s be real: the seventh one sucked.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI know. And I think they lied about the numbers. I don\u2019t think it made that much money. But at the stage door, I sign \u201cScream\u201d things every night. People who love me from those movies are coming to see the show, and they can\u2019t ever take that away from me.<\/p>\n

\t\tYou were fired from \u201cScream 7.\u201d<\/a> Jenna Ortega didn\u2019t return. The director dropped out. But then Spyglass brought back cast members from the prior \u201cScream\u201d films. Did that seem scabby to you? Did it feel like those were people basically crossing the picket line?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tOh, one hundred percent. I think they all are. And they have to live with that. The only way they were able to make that movie after what happened was to nostalgia-bait as much as possible.<\/p>\n

\t\tI can relate to what happened to you a bit. I was let go from a media job even though I thought we were doing great work, and I struggled to understand the why.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen you\u2019re doing something that feels like it\u2019s the right thing to do, and then you\u2019re punished for it, it really fucks with your head.<\/p>\n

\t\tDefinitely. I spent a lot of time wondering what I did wrong, and if I could have gone about it any differently to avoid that outcome.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tFor me, I was like, \u201cWait \u2014 I\u2019m trying to call out something that is severely, severely wrong and evil, and I get punished for it. I get everything taken from me. What is the lesson I\u2019m supposed to learn?\u201d I was even questioning God: \u201cWhat are You trying to teach me? Because I don\u2019t understand why the ones that are trying to do the right thing are getting punished, and the people that are like la-la-la-la-la continue to rise. I don\u2019t understand this game. What is this?!\u201d It was a rude awakening.<\/p>\n

\t\tAnd you grew up very Catholic, but this had you questioning God?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tYeah, because it didn\u2019t make sense to me. What lesson am I supposed to be learning? Am I supposed to learn to just shut the fuck up? Some people that claim to follow the Word of God are so far gone that they\u2019re unable to see how problematic what they\u2019re supporting is. Like that they would blindly support someone like this president. We\u2019re living in a crazy, crazy world.<\/p>\n

\t\tHow do you stay centered in this crazy, crazy world?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tWell, \u201cTitan\u00edque\u201d helps me because it\u2019s a silly show and a show that\u2019s meant to be an escape from reality, to give you joy, to make you feel lighter. And I do think that sometimes that\u2019s the role of art \u2014 to give you a safe haven or some kind of relief. What I\u2019ve found is that here in New York, there are a lot of real artists.<\/p>\n

\t\tWho aren\u2019t in it for money or fame.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tExactly. You\u2019re not going to get super rich or famous doing theater. You do it for the love of the art. And there are a lot of people that are a lot more vocal about politics on Broadway because the essence of the artist is to be outspoken and to be political. So, I love being here at this moment in time and being a part of this community that feels more like home to me.<\/p>\n

\t\tWhen I was let go, I thought a lot about how too much of my identity and sense of self was tied up in what I did for a living, and that there is a lot more to me than what I do for work.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen, all of a sudden, I found myself in a position where potentially everything could be taken from me and I would never work again, I had an identity crisis. I was like, \u201cI am \u2018the actress.\u2019 What am I without that?\u201d So, I really had to dig in. And I had a lot of people around me like my family \u2014 my sisters, my husband, my mother \u2014 who were reminding me, \u201cYou\u2019re so much more than that.\u201d And after I came out of that hole, I was like, \u201cYou know what? I got to that point in my career because I\u2019m a badass, and I can do that in any industry. If I have to change careers and do something else, I know that I will achieve success and be great at what I do.\u201d I love the challenge of starting over. It also reminded me of that hunger that I had when I was younger and starting out that had kind of dissipated. It reignited that for me. I wanted to fight for things again.<\/p>\n

\t\tWhat\u2019s in the pipeline for you?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019m starting my production company. I\u2019m very excited about that.<\/p>\n

\t\tYou\u2019d spoken in the past about writing a lesbian rom-com that you intend to direct.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tNot a rom-com \u2014 a romance. It was meant to be a romcom and then I got inspired, and it became less of a romcom and more of a romance. I\u2019m focused now on building a slate, producing, and finding good companies to partner with. I want to give opportunities to good people. I have lists of all the people I want to work with.<\/p>\n

\t\tWho\u2019s on these lists?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tBasically anyone pro-Palestine. I kept track of the people who vocally came out and said something to defend me at the time. Susan Sarandon. Tatiana Maslany. Hannah Einbinder. Poppy Liu. Obviously, Javier Bardem would be a dream to work with. He doesn\u2019t need me to give him any opportunities. But yes, I have lists. I do believe in building a network of people who are like-minded. And for me, this is Chapter 2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In late 2023, as Israeli bombs decimated Gaza in retribution for the Oct. 7 attacks, actress Melissa Barrera…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":471618,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[268],"tags":[11942,434,18,117,19,17,71,2870,11820,72,9737,206977,176043],"class_list":{"0":"post-471617","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-broadway","9":"tag-celebrities","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-israel","15":"tag-jenna-ortega","16":"tag-melissa-barrera","17":"tag-palestine","18":"tag-scream","19":"tag-titanique","20":"tag-tony-awards"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116528874676683726","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=471617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/471618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=471617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=471617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=471617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}