Star Barrera shares pro-Palestine message: 'I hope this Christmas feels weird'
Entertainment
Barrera is not backing down in her vocal support for Palestine
(Web Desk) - As Christmas approaches and Scream 7 collapses, Melissa Barrera is not backing down in her vocal support for Palestine.
Barrera, who was fired from the project after sharing posts about the Israel-Hamas war that the studio behind the franchise deemed anti-semitic, continued speaking out about the conflict on Sunday.
In an Instagram post, the actress wrote in all caps, "I hope this Christmas feels ... weird. I hope you can't ignore the fact that you're celebrating the birth of a child who was persecuted and targeted and his parents forced to flee to Egypt while right now, millions of Palestinians from that exact part of the world, are being persecuted and targeted and forced to flee their homes while they are indiscriminately and relentlessly bombed."
She added, "Merry Xmas."
Berrera wrote the message as a caption to a political cartoon showing Santa in his sleigh passing a cart carrying dead bodies instead of presents.
Following the Hamas terror attacks on Oct. 7 and Israel’s subsequent retaliation on Gaza, the In the Heights actress has been vocal about her support for the Palestinian people on social media.
On Instagram, she previously re-shared a post accusing Israel of "genocide and ethnic cleansing," among other condemnations. Spyglass, the production company behind Scream 7, parted ways with the actress shortly after she shared those posts.
"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," Spyglass Media Group told Variety.
"First and foremost I condemn Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia," Barrera wrote in response on Instagram. "I condemn hate and prejudice of any kind against any group of people."
She added, "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."
Other stars have since rallied to Barrera's side. In an open letter published by Artists for Palestine UK, Academy Award-winning actress Olivia Colman joined 1,300 actors in defending Barrera and others who have been punished for speaking out in support of Palestine.
John Cusack, Rowan Blanchard and other celebrities have also voiced their support for Barrera on social media.
