Susan Sarandon and Scream's Melissa Barrera dropped over Israel-Hamas conflict comments

The actors have faced criticism over their comments
Lisa McLoughlin 22 November 2023
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Susan Sarandon has been dropped from her talent agency after comments she made about the Israel-Hamas war.

The Oscar winner, 77, has attended several rallies in New York City in support of Palestine amid the ongoing conflict, most recent of which was last Friday.

At the protest, she allegedly remarked: “There are a lot of people that are afraid, that are afraid of being Jewish at this time, and are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country, so often subjected to violence", which has since drawn criticism.

She also retweeted a pro-Palestinian post on X, formerly Twitter, from Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, who has been criticised previously for making antisemitic remarks.

On Tuesday, a spokesperson for United Talent Agency (UTA) confirmed to Deadline that they were no longer working with the star, who signed with them in 2014.

The Standard has contacted a UTA spokesperson and a representative for Sarandon for comment.

Barrera plays Sam Carpenter in the slasher flicks
Paramount Pictures

Her dropping comes as it was reported that Melissa Barrera was fired from the Scream 7 film after the production company found recent pro-Palestinian social media posts she made were antisemitic. The Mexico-born actress, 33, joined the slasher franchise in 2022, playing lead Sam Carpenter in its fifth and sixth films alongside Jenna Ortega.

On Tuesday, it was reported by Variety and Deadline that the star had been “quietly dropped” from Spyglass Media’s upcoming sequel over her Instagram posts.

In one post, Barrera had labeled Israel as a “colonized” land and then posted content supposedly containing an antisemitic trope of Jewish people controlling the media.

According to Variety, she wrote in one Instagram Story: “Western media only shows the [Israeli] side. Why do they do that, I will let you deduce for yourself.”

The Hollywood Reporter reported that she penned in another: “Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp.

“Cornering everyone together, with nowhere to go, no electricity no water … People have learnt nothing from our histories.

“And just like our histories, people are still silently watching it all happen. THIS IS GENOCIDE AND ETHNIC CLEANSING.”

A Spyglass spokesperson told Variety: “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 Standard has contacted Spyglass Media and Barrera’s representatives for comment.

Although there had been no casting confirmations announced yet, it was expected that Barrera would reprise her role in Scream 7. She has also appeared in films such as In the Heights, Carmen and the upcoming Bed Rest.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in