"It's been incredible": Melissa Barrera gushes over fan support after Scream firing

Mexican actress Melissa Barrera recently praised Scream fans for their "beautiful" support in the wake of her firing from the franchise due to her comments on the Israel-Hamas war.

The 33-year-old played the role of Samantha Carpenter in the 2022 and 2023 films of the horror franchise. On April 16, she was promoting her upcoming horror film, Abigail when she told ET Online of her fan’s support. She said:

"It's been incredible. It was so unexpected. For some reason, I did not expect to get so much support and to feel like an army behind [me] And it was so beautiful. I've gotten the chance to go to conventions since and actually meet the fans and continue to hear from them, the support, and that they're with me and that they have my back. It's just so special."

The Israel-Hamas war began on October 7, 2023, and last November, Melissa was fired from Scream for advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza. She also called out the Israeli government for what she and many others have called the "genocide" of Palestinian people.

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Melissa Barrera says fan support since Scream firing has given her "support to move forward"

Melissa Barrera played the character Sam Carpenter, the daughter of the original Ghostface, Billy Loomis, in the fifth movie titled Scream in 2022 and its sequel, Scream 6. Jenna Ortega was her sister, Tara in the franchise.

So far, more than 29,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip from airstrikes and other attacks from the Israeli Government, according to the Health Ministry of Palestine.

In November 2023, the actress made several comments about the Israel-Hamas conflict. She was fired soon after, by Spyglass, the production company behind Scream, with a statement to Variety:

"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."

On Tuesday, Melissa Barrera was promoting her new movie Abigail where she plays the role of Joey, a mother and medic. During an interview, she opened up to ET online about her abrupt departure from Scream, while praising her fans for supporting her transition.

The actress also shared how the new project has helped her, saying:

"It gives me so much strength to move forward and keep doing great stuff for them and keep making movies and shows for them and giving them more characters to connect with. I'm very excited about it, and Abigail is the beginning of that. I'm excited to share this with the world."

Both Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega are among a big group of celebrities who have supported the Palestinians in the ongoing war. One of Barrera's takes on the conflict on her social media stated that:

"Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp. Cornering everyone together, with nowhere to go, no electricity, no water… People have learnt nothing from our histories. And just like our histories, people are still silently watching it all happen. THIS IS GENOCIDE & ETHNIC CLEANSING."

Ortega left the Scream 7 cast a day after Barrera’s firing was announced. However, Neve Campbell, the actress who played the original protagonist Sidney Prescott, reported that she was returning to the franchise in March 2024.

Melissa Barrera's upcoming movie Abigail is scheduled to be released by Universal Pictures on April 19, 2024. It is directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, and stars Barrera, Alisha Weir, Kathryn Newton, Kevin Durand, Angus Cloud, and more.