Melissa Barrera reflects on Hollywood backlash and being ‘blacklisted’ over support for Palestine
The Mexican actress and activist spoke to Maria Hinojosa, reflecting on the consequences she faced after speaking out
Melissa Barrera has reflected on the professional consequences she faced after speaking publicly about Palestinians and the war in Gaza, saying she continues to hope attitudes towards the violence can change.
The Mexican actress and activist spoke to Latino USA host Maria Hinojosa, saying being “blacklisted” from Hollywood was difficult to understand, while acknowledging that other people have faced similar consequences for expressing their views.
“It’s hard to comprehend, but it’s also not the first time that that has happened to someone, and it won’t be the last.”
Barrera, whose involvement in Scream 7 was terminated in 2023 following her social media posts about the Israeli genocide in Gaza, said she believes Palestinians deserve human rights and that children should not be exposed to violence.
“There are a lot of people that got fired for basically saying Palestinians deserve human rights.”
Despite the impact on her career, Barrera said she remains hopeful that more people will respond to humanitarian crises regardless of where they occur.
“I try to continue to have hope because I do feel that there’s a lot more people out there that care, that actually do care about each other and that understand that we’re all connected.”
Spyglass Media Group previously said some of Barrera’s social media posts were interpreted as antisemitic, a characterisation she rejected.
In an earlier statement on social media, Barrera reaffirmed her position, saying, “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.”
