Melissa Barrera is drawing a direct line between her own experience after speaking in support of Palestinians and the public show of solidarity now surrounding Macklemore.
The actress told the Associated Press that she became emotional watching Finneas and other opening acts withdraw from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour in support of Macklemore, who was dropped from the tour over his “Free Palestine” remarks.
“It was so beautiful to see Finneas and the band and all the opening acts pulling out in support of Macklemore. It made me emotional,” Barrera said. “You know, I didn’t get that when it happened to me. I didn’t have any of that happen. It was too soon. People were too scared. But it’s good to see that almost three years later, at least things have changed.”
Barrera’s comments revisit one of the most consequential recent controversies tied to the Scream franchise. In November 2023, Spyglass fired Barrera after social media posts about the Israel-Hamas conflict and the “atrocities being committed against Palestinians.” At the time, the company said it had “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.”
Nearly three years later, Barrera is pointing to the reaction around Macklemore as evidence that public and industry responses to artists speaking about Palestine may be shifting. Her remarks focused not only on Macklemore being dropped, but on the visible decision by other performers connected to the tour to step away in support of him.
The Scream Fallout
Barrera’s exit from the franchise triggered a larger upheaval around Scream 7. After her ousting, Jenna Ortega also left the franchise. Ortega later said the sequel “was all kind of falling apart” without Barrera, who had played Sam Carpenter, the franchise’s new “final girl.”
The project also lost director Christopher Landon. Landon exited the film and later cited “highly aggressive and really scary” death threats aimed at his children.
The franchise then shifted direction. In March 2024, Neve Campbell was brought back to reprise her role as original “final girl” Sidney Campbell for Scream 7. Williamson, the original Scream writer from the 1996 film, was on board to direct. Campbell had previously sat out Scream VI in 2023 over what was described as a low pay offer.
The controversy around Barrera’s firing continued to follow the film. When the first trailer for Scream 7 was released last October, fans on social media quickly criticized the movie and called for a boycott. When the seventh installment premiered at Paramount Studios in February, “Free Palestine” protesters lined up outside the entrance to the lot.
A Different Kind of Response
Barrera’s latest comments underscore the contrast she sees between the response she received in 2023 and the response now unfolding around Macklemore. In her AP remarks, she said she did not receive the kind of collective backing that Macklemore has seen from other artists connected to Sheeran’s tour.
Her description was personal rather than abstract: she said the show of support made her emotional, while also suggesting that timing played a role in why her own situation unfolded differently. “It was too soon,” she said. “People were too scared.”
The Macklemore situation has now become part of a broader entertainment-industry conversation involving artists, public statements on Palestine and the professional consequences that can follow. Barrera’s comments add the perspective of someone whose own firing became a flashpoint for the Scream series and continued to shape the franchise’s path through casting changes, a director exit, fan backlash and protests tied to the film’s premiere.