Melissa Barrera vows to keep speaking out
Melissa Barrera has vowed to keep speaking out about the Israel-Hamas conflict, despite her comments resulting in her getting fired from 'Scream VII'.
Melissa Barrera has vowed to "continue to speak out", despite being fired from 'Scream VII' over her comments regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The 33-year-old actress had been set to reprise her role as Sam Carpenter - the daughter of the original movie's villain Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) - in the seventh instalment of the slasher franchise, but she was quietly let go by Spyglass Media Group, who are producing the film, because of her posts supporting Palestine have been deemed antisemitic by Spyglass Media Group.
And now Melissa has shared a statement, in which she "condemned" antisemitism and Islamophobia but insisted it is important to use her platform to speak out about the injustices she sees in the world.
She wrote on her Instagram Story: "First and foremost I condemn Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. I condemn hate and prejudice of any kind against any group of people.
"As a Latina, a proud Mexicana, I feel the responsibility of having a platform that allows me the privilege of being heard, and therefore I have tried to use it to raise awareness about issues I care about and to lend my voice to those in need.
"Every person on this earth- regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or socio-economic status- deserves equal human rights, dignity and, of course, freedom. I 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."
The 'In The Heights' actress has been advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza and her firing came shortly after she reshared a post accusing Israel of "genocide and ethnic cleansing".
The producers dropped her from the movie as a result of their "zero tolerance" policy for "hate speech".
They said in a statement: "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."
