DUBAI: Actress Melissa Barrera and supermodel Bella Hadid took to social media this week to share pro-Palestinian messages for Christmas.
Mexican star Barrera, who was previously fired from the “Scream” horror franchise over her stance, took to Instagram Stories to say: “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 the exact part of the world are being persecuted and targeted and forced to flee their homes while they are indiscriminately and relentlessly bombed.”
A screenshot of Melissa Barrera's post. (Instagram)
Barrera appeared in the two most recent films in the “Scream” franchise but was fired from her lead role in the upcoming “Scream 7” film after she took to social media to share pro-Palestinian views.
She previously shared a post that accused Israel of “genocide and ethnic cleansing” and posted an excerpt from Jewish Currents magazine about distorting “the Holocaust to boost the Israeli arms industry.”
“Scream” producer Spyglass severed ties with Barrera after the posts.
“Spyglass’ stance is unequivocally clear: 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,” the company told Variety.
One day after Spyglass fired Barrera in November, it was revealed that castmate Jenna Ortega will also not be returning to the franchise due to filming conflicts. This week, director Christopher Landon also departed from his role on “Scream 7,” taking to X on Saturday to write: “I guess now is as good a time as any to announce I formally exited ‘Scream 7’ weeks ago. This will disappoint some and delight others. It was a dream job that turned into a nightmare. And my heart did break for everyone involved. Everyone. But it’s time to move on.”
Meanwhile, US Dutch Palestinian model Hadid took to Instagram on Christmas Eve to share an illustration of the word “Palestine” in the form of a Christmas tree, topped with a dove holding an olive branch.
