“Honestly, I feel like I finally am becoming who I’m supposed to be in life,” Barrera said while on the red carpet at the Sundance Film Festival Thursday. “And the last few months have been an awakening of that and I’m just so grateful for everything that’s happened.”
Melissa Barrera has only good feelings about her time with the Scream franchise, despite how her time with it came to an end.
Barrera, who was let go from the series by Spyglass Media in November following her social media posts about the Israel-Hamas conflict, told the Associated Press that she’s had an “awakening” following her exit from the franchise.
“Honestly, I feel like I finally am becoming who I’m supposed to be in life,” Barrera said while on the red carpet at the Sundance Film Festival Thursday. “And the last few months have been an awakening of that and I’m just so grateful for everything that’s happened.”
Melissa Barrera says her exit from the “Scream” franchise over social media posts about Gaza has become a personal “awakening.” pic.twitter.com/MhTS97c7tS
— AP Entertainment (@APEntertainment) January 19, 2024
@APEntertainment
Barrera broke her silence about the firing on Instagram, just days after the news broke, writing, “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.”
Co-star, Jenna Ortega, would go on to depart the series just days later due to Wednesday scheduling conflicts, along with director Christopher Landon, who called the franchise a dream that quickly morphed into a “nightmare.”
Getty / Paramount
Jenna Ortega Drops Out of Scream VII, Following Firing of Costar Melissa Barrera
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As for the rest of the cast, the lineup for Scream VII is still unclear, with Jasmin Savoy Brown telling Entertainment Tonight earlier this week that she’s yet to get a call about returning to the series.
“I haven’t gotten a call, so I think if you want to ask Spyglass what they’re doing, you can,” Savoy said. “I haven’t gotten a call.”
Despite the major shakeup in the Scream world, Barrera says the cast is still very much a family, with the group reuniting last weekend at the MPTF’s 17th Annual Evening Before Gala.
A group photo, which was later posted to Instagram, included Barrera, Ortega, Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Liana Liberato, Tony Revolori, Jack Quaid and Barrera’s on-screen father and OG Ghostface, Skeet Ulrich.
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“We’re family for life,” Barrera told Deadline of her former co-stars. “If we’re ever in the vicinity of each other, we always find each other and that’s what happened at that event.”
She continued, “When we find each other, we just want to spend the night with each other, and nothing is ever going to change that.”
Barrera has since moved on — to a new horror film, Your Monster, from Caroline Lindy. In the pic, Barrera plays a soft-spoken actress, who finds her voice again after she meets a terrifying, yet weirdly charming Monster living in her closet.
Your Monster will run at Sundance’s Midnight section through January 28.
