n October 7, 2023, Israel began a on the Gaza Strip in response to an attack from the Palestinian group Hamas. What followed was three years of death and destruction the world now recognises as a
These three years have seen many people speaking up for the Palestinians who have been the victims of Israeli violence long before October 7, but it wasn’t always like this; it wasn’t always in vogue to condemn Israel’s brutality and many of those who did — especially celebrities — ended up suffering consequences.
One of the earliest victims of Hollywood’s action against pro-Palestinian voices was actor Melissa Barrera, who was fired from her recurring role in the Scream franchise after she posted about Israel’s war on Gaza on social media.
Barrera had a role in the fifth and sixth Scream films and was shooting for the seventh when she was let go. Her on-screen sister Jenna Ortega, who has also been vocal about Palestine, a day after Barrera’s firing was announced. Reports at the time denied Ortega left over her co-star’s removal, but netizens believed there was more to the story.
Around the same time as the controversy surrounding Barrera began, Academy Award-winning actor Susan Sarandon was by her talent agency for speaking at a pro-Palestine rally.
Her comments, which were deemed “anti-semitic” by the agency, compared anti-semitism to the Islamophobia Muslims in the US had been subjected to for years and called for people to talk to Jewish Americans who feel unsafe.
