Scream Movies Star Melissa Barrera Reportedly Dropped From Scream 7

Melissa Barrera –  the actress best known as the face of the new Scream movie franchise – has reportedly been dropped from Scream 7, which is already in development. Word of Barrera Scream VII exit started to float around the Internet today; however, the reports are stating that she was actually let go from the franchise a while back and that the news is just now coming to light. 

Word is that Melissa Barrera sparked controversy (and eventually backlash) with a series of Instagram stories she posted back in October 2023, commenting on the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The Islamist militant group Hamas launched a coordinated massacre of Israeli citizens on October 7, 20230, sparking a fierce conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip region and sparking an even larger debate/argument across the world. Average citizens, celebrities, and world figures alike all got in on the discussion, and inevitably careers and lives were affected by some of the heated exchanges and/or posts that happened afterward. 

A Reddit post captured some of what Melissa Barrera had to say in her IG stories – including one post of both the Palestinian flag and the flag of our native country, Mexico, with the attached caption “I too come from a colonized country” / “Palestine WILL be free” while quoting a famous line from Greek poet Dinos Christianopoulos: “they tried to bury us, they didn’t know we were seeds”. 

In a longer and far more direct post, Barrera wrote “I have been actively looking for videos and information about the Palestinian side for the last 2 weeks or so, following accounts etc. Why? Because western media only shows the other side. Why they do that, I will let you deduce for yourself. Usually the algorithm on social media gets the gist. Well… My discover page on IG will ONLY show me videos showing and talking about the Israeli side. Censorship is very real. Palestinians know this, they know the world has been trying to make them invisible for decades. Keep sharing.” 

Another post showed a video reel of the Palestinian protest marches that occurred in the days and weeks following Israel’s counterattacks. The response by Israel against Gaza, in lieu of what Hamas did, has angered various Islamic peoples and those championing the plight of innocent civilians being caught up in and killed by the escalating level of crossfire and deadly ordnance strikes (missiles) in the region. Melissa Barrera is far from the only celebrity to take issue with Isareal’s tactics – but it wouldn’t be that shocking to learn that the studio and executives behind Scream took issue with Barrera sharing offensive and/or discriminatory conspiracy notions like Western media being controlled and orchestrated. The “why they do that, I will let you deduce for yourself…” line definitely sounds like it ventures into some dark territory… 

Scream V and Scream VI revitalized the franchise like few other franchise reboots could. Scream 6 ended up being a franchise record-setter, earning more domestically in the US and Canada than any other installment, and hitting overall numbers ($169 million worldwide on a $30 million budget) not seen since Scream 2 and the franchise’s best heyday. Barrera had solidified her character Sam Carpenter (daughter of original Ghostface killer, Billy Loomis) as a scream-queen icon, right up there alongside Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott. That said, Scream VI also elevated Sam’s half-sister Tara to main character/scream queen status, as well; Tara is played by Netflix’s Wednesday star Jenna Ortega, who has inarguably become a much bigger mainstream star than Barrera. Scream 7 has all the runway needed to kill Sam offscreen or send her away (for a possible return later), while Tara (Ortega) leads the next installment of the franchise. 

Scream V and Scream VI are streaming on Paramount+. Scream VII is in development.