The makers of the horror movie franchise Scream have fired its star Melissa Barrera following statements the actor made regarding the Israel-Hamas War, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp,” she wrote on Instagram. “Cornering everyone together, with no where 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."

THR reports that Spyglass, the makers/owners of the Scream franchise, have declined to comment on this story - and the Hollywood trade is being extremely careful in the wording of the purported reasons of the alleged departure.

Barrera is best known for her role as Sam Carpenter in 2022's Scream relaunch and the 2023 sequel Scream VI. The latter was the highest grossing horror movie of the year until Five Nights at Freddy's surpassed it, and that revenue was enough for another sequel to be greenlit soon after - with Barrera listed to reprise her role - until today that is.

Barrera has three upcoming films in the works - an as-yet-untitled Universal Monsters movie coming in April 2024, as well as the romcom horror film Your Monster and a co-starring role in the biopic The Collaboration, about Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. All three films have completed filming.

As for the next Scream film, Happy Death Day's Christopher Landon has been hired to direct the as-yet-undated film. The directors of the previous film have openly expressed a desire to have original Scream star Neve Campbell reprise her role in a future film - which has been something fans and even Campbell herself have talked about fervently. THR reports that the film is "expected to recalibrate" following this decision against bringing Barrera back as planned.

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