Melissa Barrera Was Canceled by Hollywood. She’s Still Fighting Her Way Back.

In late 2023, as Israeli bombs decimated Gaza in retribution for the Oct. 7 attacks, actress Melissa Barrera took stock of the carnage and spoke out.

The “Scream” and “In the Heights” star posted daily messages to her Instagram calling for peace, criticizing the Israeli government’s killing of Palestinian civilians, and comparing Gaza to a concentration camp. She posted fundraising links to Palestinian human rights organizations and shared articles by Holocaust scholars accusing Israel of committing genocide. The Hollywood powers that be took notice and a month later, she was fired from her lead role in “Scream 7” and pushed out of her talent agency, WME.

Spyglass, the production company behind the “Scream” films, issued the following statement to Variety at the time about Barrera’s firing:

“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.”

Barrera rejected Spyglass’ claims of “antisemitism” and the “incitement of hate,” responding: “I believe a group of people are not their leadership and that no governing body should be above criticism. I pray day and night for no more deaths, for no more violence and for peaceful co-existence. 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.”

For nearly a year after her firing, Barrera’s offers completely dried up. Few messages of support came. She was in a dark place, overcome by the notion that she’d lost the thing she loved most, the thing she’d dreamed about as a child growing up in Mexico and during the years spent cutting her teeth in telenovelas.

I’m seated across from Barrera, 35, at a bustling restaurant in Manhattan’s Theater District. She’s in a much better place right now, currently featuring in “Titaníque” as Rose, the besieged damsel navigating the chaos on board the Titanic and the complicated dynamics of her mother (played by Jim Parsons), the Victor Garber character (Frankie Grande), the Unsinkable Molly Brown (Deborah Cox), and Jack (Constantine Rousouli) and Cal (John Riddle), the two man-children battling for her affection. Oh, and if that weren’t enough, there’s also none other than Celine Dion (Marla Mindelle), who is somehow convinced that she was on the Titanic (!). It’s a wonderfully campy Broadway musical that earned four Tony nominations, including Best Musical.

Though she says “she’s never felt happier, more fulfilled, or more at peace” starring on Broadway, which was always a goal of hers, she’s still struggling to make sense of what happened to her.

“I feel like I have this fatal flaw where I think I can do anything,” offers Barrera. “It’s my biggest strength, and it’s my biggest weakness at the same time.”

In an in-depth interview with Variety, Barrera opened up about her cancellation and the long road back.

Last time we spoke in January of 2024, we were discussing “Your Monster” at Sundance and how — like the character you play in that film — it was your dream to star on Broadway. And now you’re starring on Broadway.

I know! It was my biggest dream to be on Broadway. I’ve wanted to be on Broadway since I was probably 12. It’s literally insane. I begged my parents to see the national tour of “Wicked” when it went to Houston, and I convinced my mom to let me and my friends go to McAllen, Texas, to see the non-equity national tour of “Rent.” I was a huge fan of musicals.

You were really at the center of a storm when we last spoke. You’d been fired from “Scream 7,” and your name was being dragged through the mud. Did you think your career was over?

The pessimistic side of me was having those thoughts, but the optimistic side of me was like, “Fuck no. I’m sure the tide will turn.” And it has. But because I was one of the first to speak up, to this day there are still a lot of people in the industry who have a personal grudge against me.

And it was wildly misreported what you’d posted. To this day, nearly every article about your firing states that you’d shared a Jewish Currents story on social media alleging the Israeli government was “distorting the Holocaust to boost the Israeli arms industry,” labeling it antisemitic. But in that story, written by Israeli Holocaust scholar Raz Segal, he writes, “I have written about settler colonialism and Jewish supremacy in Israel, the distortion of the Holocaust to boost the Israeli arms industry,” etc. He was listing previous stories he’d written, not discussing the current situation. And the actual story Segal was referencing in The Nation was about how the Israeli government allowed Bulgaria to whitewash their WWII history to secure an arms deal with the country.

Those people still deny that what’s going on is a genocide. So, we’re never going to see eye to eye on that.

Who do you mean when you say, “Those people?”

I mean the people that accused me of being antisemitic, and the people that run Spyglass. And they’re wrong. Just factually wrong.

It’s been rather gendered as far as the people who’ve had to face repercussions for speaking out against Israel. You were fired from “Scream” and essentially blacklisted, Susan Sarandon was dropped by her talent agency, Maha Dakhil was forced to resign from the board of CAA, and Ms. Rachel is constantly under attack. Why are mostly women facing repercussions for this?

I have my theory as to why that happens, but one of the reasons that I wanted to do theater in 2026 is because I needed a break from all the bullshit that is Hollywood — and I mean specifically Hollywood, not the film or television industry at large. I needed a break because I’m still blocked from certain places to this day. I only have a myopic vision of my own life, but I don’t think anyone in the entertainment industry was affected the way that I was. I was looking at the promotional poster for this new show “The Sweetest Kill,” and the tagline said, “She knew the cost. She did it anyway.” And I was like, “That’s me.” I became the face of it and I didn’t want that, nor should I have been.

Your posts didn’t seem incendiary. They criticized the Israeli government for its destruction of Gaza.

The specifics of my situation were like a perfect storm. I’m a woman of color in this industry. I’m “on the rise,” but I don’t have a big enough name to be untouchable, so they can make an example out of me. I am well-known enough that you can write articles and create all the clickbait propaganda that you need, but also not big enough that people are going to care enough or revolt or do anything in the industry for me. I was the perfect scapegoat.

Did anyone reach out to support you during that time? At least Jenna Ortega dropped out of “Scream.”

[Shakes head] That’s not the reality of things…

Really?

I got some messages of support from people in the industry, but what I found is that private messages with no action mean nothing.

Right. Why couldn’t they at least send a tweet or have the message be public?

Exactly. And I had faith. I was like, “Someone is going to reach out to me and help me. It’s just a matter of time.” You know who was the only person? Boots Riley. I love him. He reached out to me ten months later — I had ten torturous months of uncertainty, and no work, and suffering, and not even knowing if my team was on my side, it was terrible — and Boots sent me a message in August of 2024 and was like, “I got a part for you in my movie.” And he offered me a part in “I Love Boosters.” And for some reason, once Boots sent me that message, I suddenly had five messages with offers in my inbox. It’s like he flipped a switch. I call him “The Wizard.” The energy shifted. And I got “The Copenhagen Test” and did that because it was a longer job and I wanted to work and be back on set, and it was money that I hadn’t made in a while, so I couldn’t do the Boots movie but I credit him because he’s literally the only person in the industry who reached out and said, “Let me help you out.”

Do you think there’s been a bit of a sea change in Hollywood around Israel and Palestine? “No Other Land” won the Best Documentary Oscar, which was surprising. You have Javier Bardem on red carpets and stages saying, “Free Palestine.”

I love seeing Javier. And Javier has been vocal about Palestine forever. It’s funny. I thought, “Everyone must be getting affected, I’m sure.” But I have a friend who works closely with Artists for Ceasefire who has access to a lot of these artists, and she gave me the real and said, “No Melissa, they have not been affected at all.” And so that’s why they’re able to be so vocal. So, I thought, “It must be nice to be able to speak your mind and not have to suffer any consequences.” But we do need their voices.

Going back to mostly women being targeted over this, I think that’s largely been the case.

Susan Sarandon was someone who’s been affected by this, and she’s been super supportive of me. She came to the opening of “Titaníque.” She’s a fucking icon. I love her. She’s such a good role model. But now I’m here. And I’m so happy.

Were you a fan of the film “Titanic” growing up?

I think I was too young when it came out, so I wasn’t aware of how it was an era. It was probably in middle school where I saw it for the first time. I owned the double-VHS, but I also wasn’t allowed to see it on my own because it had nudity. I wasn’t a huge fan of the movie, but I knew enough about it and knew enough to know that it was a great movie. Plus, they shot it in Mexico! And I’m a huge Kate Winslet fan. I think she’s the greatest. And I saw “Titaníque” twice before. I saw it off-Broadway and I saw it in Toronto while I was shooting “The Copenhagen Test.” I took my cast to dinner and the show, and we had such a great time. But I never in a million years thought I would be in it.

And you acted in plays when you were young.

I played basketball and was more of a sports girl growing up but always watched the school musicals wishing I was in them. Eventually, in the eighth grade, I auditioned for the school musical for the first time — which was “The Wizard of Oz” — and convinced my whole basketball team to audition with me. I sang “Happy Birthday” in the audition and got a callback for Dorothy. It was a middle/high school production, so I was one of the youngest people there. And then they gave the part to a senior, so I was cast as Tree #3 and had one line: “How do you like them apples?” Not even Tree #1. That was my beginning.

I see you’re rocking two anchor necklaces.

This one was my grandfather’s. My mother gave it to me. It was tucked away, and it’s a Catholic symbol. My mother engraved it with “Titaníque 2026” on the back. And this other anchor, Frankie [Grande’s] mom got it for me for the opening. They’re the most generous people. Ariana [Grande] sent us all makeup and Frankie’s mom got everyone an opening night gift.

With “Titaníque,” it’s a pretty grueling schedule on Broadway. Tons of shows.

I’m on stage almost the entire time, and if I’m off-stage, I’m running to my next entrance. It’s been a cool challenge and it’s real athleticism. Broadway performers are athletes. It’s no joke. I have the utmost respect for Broadway performers. And listen, I love this life. It’s the life that I always envisioned for myself. I feel very happy and very fulfilled to be in New York and taking the subway to the theater. Plus, two of my sisters live in New York.

There is a fun nod to “Scream” in the musical where a character says to you, “Do you wanna die, Sidney?”

And that was already there, but now it’s funnier because it’s directed at me!

Does it also feel like you’re reclaiming “Scream,” in a way?

Yeah, a little bit. The reality is that “Scream” is always going to be a big part of me because it was two years of my life, it gave me a lot, and I’m grateful specifically to Matt [Bettinelli-Olpin] and Tyler [Gillett] who gave me that shot. That hasn’t been soured for me. They don’t have that power.

And let’s be real: the seventh one sucked.

I know. And I think they lied about the numbers. I don’t think it made that much money. But at the stage door, I sign “Scream” things every night. People who love me from those movies are coming to see the show, and they can’t ever take that away from me.

You were fired from “Scream 7.” Jenna Ortega didn’t return. The director dropped out. But then Spyglass brought back cast members from the prior “Scream” films. Did that seem scabby to you? Did it feel like those were people basically crossing the picket line?

Oh, one hundred percent. I think they all are. And they have to live with that. The only way they were able to make that movie after what happened was to nostalgia-bait as much as possible.

I can relate to what happened to you a bit. I was let go from a media job even though I thought we were doing great work, and I struggled to understand the why.

When you’re doing something that feels like it’s the right thing to do, and then you’re punished for it, it really fucks with your head.

Definitely. I spent a lot of time wondering what I did wrong, and if I could have gone about it any differently to avoid that outcome.

For me, I was like, “Wait — I’m trying to call out something that is severely, severely wrong and evil, and I get punished for it. I get everything taken from me. What is the lesson I’m supposed to learn?” I was even questioning God: “What are You trying to teach me? Because I don’t understand why the ones that are trying to do the right thing are getting punished, and the people that are like la-la-la-la-la continue to rise. I don’t understand this game. What is this?!” It was a rude awakening.

And you grew up very Catholic, but this had you questioning God?

Yeah, because it didn’t make sense to me. What lesson am I supposed to be learning? Am I supposed to learn to just shut the fuck up? Some people that claim to follow the Word of God are so far gone that they’re unable to see how problematic what they’re supporting is. Like that they would blindly support someone like this president. We’re living in a crazy, crazy world.

How do you stay centered in this crazy, crazy world?

Well, “Titaníque” helps me because it’s a silly show and a show that’s meant to be an escape from reality, to give you joy, to make you feel lighter. And I do think that sometimes that’s the role of art — to give you a safe haven or some kind of relief. What I’ve found is that here in New York, there are a lot of real artists.

Who aren’t in it for money or fame.

Exactly. You’re not going to get super rich or famous doing theater. You do it for the love of the art. And there are a lot of people that are a lot more vocal about politics on Broadway because the essence of the artist is to be outspoken and to be political. So, I love being here at this moment in time and being a part of this community that feels more like home to me.

When I was let go, I thought a lot about how too much of my identity and sense of self was tied up in what I did for a living, and that there is a lot more to me than what I do for work.

When, all of a sudden, I found myself in a position where potentially everything could be taken from me and I would never work again, I had an identity crisis. I was like, “I am ‘the actress.’ What am I without that?” So, I really had to dig in. And I had a lot of people around me like my family — my sisters, my husband, my mother — who were reminding me, “You’re so much more than that.” And after I came out of that hole, I was like, “You know what? I got to that point in my career because I’m a badass, and I can do that in any industry. If I have to change careers and do something else, I know that I will achieve success and be great at what I do.” I love the challenge of starting over. It also reminded me of that hunger that I had when I was younger and starting out that had kind of dissipated. It reignited that for me. I wanted to fight for things again.

What’s in the pipeline for you?

I’m starting my production company. I’m very excited about that.

You’d spoken in the past about writing a lesbian rom-com that you intend to direct.

Not a rom-com — a romance. It was meant to be a romcom and then I got inspired, and it became less of a romcom and more of a romance. I’m focused now on building a slate, producing, and finding good companies to partner with. I want to give opportunities to good people. I have lists of all the people I want to work with.

Who’s on these lists?

Basically anyone pro-Palestine. I kept track of the people who vocally came out and said something to defend me at the time. Susan Sarandon. Tatiana Maslany. Hannah Einbinder. Poppy Liu. Obviously, Javier Bardem would be a dream to work with. He doesn’t need me to give him any opportunities. But yes, I have lists. I do believe in building a network of people who are like-minded. And for me, this is Chapter 2.