Melissa Barrera opened up about her experience in the past year, since she was fired from the Scream film franchise amid remarks she made about the conflict between Israel and Palestine that some deemed antisemitic.

‘It was the darkest and hardest year of my life, and I had to reevaluate everything,’ the Monterrey, Mexico-born actress, 34, told The Independent Tuesday. ‘There were times where I felt like my life was over.’

The actress, who starred in 2021’s In the Heights, 2023’s Scream VI and 2022’s Scream, said that her career hit a bit of a lull in the wake of the controversy.

‘It was quiet for, like, 10 months,’ Barrera said. ‘I was still getting offers for small things here and there – I’m not going to lie and say there was nothing – but [the message] was, like, “Oh, she probably doesn’t have work, she’ll say yes to anything.”‘

Barrera had posted statements on Instagram Stories in November 2023 calling the war ‘genocide and ethnic cleansing,’ saying that ‘Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp.’

Spyglᴀss Media Group, the production company behind the upcoming Scream VII, acknowledged Barrera’s exit from the horror franchise in a statement one year ago. 

Melissa Barrera, 34, opened up about her experience in the past year, saying, ‘There were times where I felt like my life was over.’ Pictured in April in LA 

Barrera was fired from the Scream film franchise amid remarks she made about the conflict between Israel and Palestine that some deemed antisemitic. Pictured in 2023’s Scream VI

Spyglᴀss said its position ‘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 on November 23, 2023 posted a statement on Instagram Stories about her firing.

Read More Melissa Barrera opens up about her controversial Scream 7 firing

‘First and foremost I condemn antisemitism and Islamophobia. I condemn hate and prejudice of any kind against any group of people,’ she wrote.

‘I believe a group of people are NOT their leadership, and that no governing body should be above criticism,’ she added. ‘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.’

Barrera has spent most of the year working to promote two films she made prior to the career crisis, the horror film April and the recently-released horror comedy musical Your Monster, according to The Independent.

‘I kept getting horror scripts, and I wasn’t getting a lot of the really exciting parts I was auditioning for,’ Barrera said. ‘I’ve never been a person that just wants to work for work’s sake. I give so much of myself to acting that if a part of me feels like it’s not worth it, I’m gonna be miserable.

Barrera said her character in the film, Laura Franco, ‘wears her heart on her sleeve’ and is ‘a big crier’ and ‘very dramatic.’

The actress, who starred in 2021’s In the Heights, 2023’s Scream VI and 2022’s Scream, said that her career hit a bit of a lull in the wake of the controversy. Pictured in May in NYC 

Barrera had posted statements on Instagram Stories in November 2023 calling the war ‘genocide and ethnic cleansing’

She added, ‘I’m not like that at all … inside I’m constantly freaking out. I rethink my career at least twice a year. Like, should I even be doing this? Am I even good? Am I ever gonna work again?’

Barrera told the The Independent that companies began reaching out to her with compelling projects about two months ago after the 10-month lull.

‘It felt like I had been invisible, and then all of a sudden, there was a switch that made me visible again,’ she said. ‘I feel better. I was stuck in the sand dunes for a while, and now I feel like my feet are moving, I have an oxygen tank, and I’m, like … going up.’

Among those projects include Copenhagen, a Peacock show co-starring Simu Liu.

‘It was exactly what I needed to ease myself back into the industry and do something fun that’s not going to destroy me emotionally,’ Barrera said. ‘And, most importantly, I’m finding the right people to work with.’

The Israel-Hamas war has caused rifts throughout Hollywood: When many groups were issuing statements condemning Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, the Writers Guild of America ultimately didn’t after failing to come to an agreement.  

Demonstrators lifted placards and flags during an anti-government protest demanding action for the release of Israelis held hostage by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip since the October 2023 attacks, in front of the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv on November 23 

The chat with Barrera was published Tuesday, as Israel approved a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants on Tuesday that would end nearly 14 months of fighting linked to the war in the Gaza Strip.

The ceasefire, starting at 4 a.m. local time Wednesday, would mark the first major step toward ending the regionwide unrest triggered by Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. 

But it does not address the devastating war in Gaza, where Hamas is still holding dozens of hostages and the conflict is more intractable.

Hours before the ceasefire with Hezbollah was to take effect, Israel carried out the most intense wave of strikes in Beirut and its southern suburbs since the start of the conflict and issued a record number of evacuation warnings. At least 42 people were killed in strikes across the country, according to local authorities.