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Actor Melissa Barrera, best known for her roles in the Scream film series, was let go from her role in the latest film after she publicly criticised Israel in November 2023, just over a month after the country launched its devastating war on Gaza. Now, she’s speaking up in an interview to Variety on her journey from the depths of Hollywood’s cancellation purgatory back to the studio and eventually to Broadway.

She said she had conflicting thoughts when the situation was unfolding, alternating between the idea that her career was over and a belief that the tide would turn eventually, which it did.

The actor contended that while many of her colleagues did later speak out in support of Palestine, she was disproportionately affected because she 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”.

Barrera said a friend of hers working with Artists for Palestine confirmed other celebrities were not facing nearly as much flak as she did. “It must be nice to be able to speak your mind and not have to suffer any consequences,” she recalled thinking to herself.

Apart from being the first to speak up, the actor said her situation was the “perfect storm” of factors making her the “perfect scapegoat”.

“I’m a woman of colour 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.”

Barrera said she spent 10 months out of work after being fired from Scream VII with little in the way of visible support from people in the industry. It was only in August 2024 that filmmaker Boots Riley offered her a role in I Love Boosters, ending her career drought.

That’s the past, though and the actor has regained her footing with The Copenhagen Test and is now playing Rose in Titanique — a campy reimagining of the Titanic — on Broadway.

She said moving to New York to do theatre was a much-needed breath of fresh air. “I needed a break from all the b******t that is Hollywood — and I mean specifically Hollywood, not the film or television industry at large… because I’m still blocked from certain places to this day,” she told the interviewer.

For her next act, Barrera said she was starting her own production company and was looking to work with peers who share her beliefs.

“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… I do believe in building a network of people who are like-minded.”