About Melissa Barrera...

The situation surrounding Melissa Barrera’s exhausting. I say that not because she did anything wrong, or because her situation is unique. Plenty of celebrities have done and said worse, many without consequences. However, her becoming the poster child for Palestinian self-determination and being the “perfect victim of cancel culture” is aggravating as a Jewish person burned by isolation brought on from October 7th and the invasion of Gaza. But let’s backtrack, shall we?

Recently, Variety did an expose on Barrera’s comeback after being fired from Scream 7. I’ve already covered my thoughts here, so I won’t go into too much detail, but I’ll admit that David Ellison jumped the gun. It’s to be expected, yet the ripple effects led to a massive derailment the end result never recovered from. Barrera, apparently, was blacklisted, with her talent agent dropping her and roles drying up. In short, her outspokenness for Palestinians cost her.

Variety has done exposes like this on people before, some more controversial than Barrera. (They did one on Hasan Piker a while back.) However, their refusal to push back on spicy takes is a problem. And nowhere is this more-apparent than their expose on Barrera. She’s not a loose cannon on par with Piker, but some of her thoughts feel disingenuous.

Perhaps this is clearest with her thoughts on Israel and Gaza. I know that’s become hot button issue, even at the expense of other conflicts, but Barrera repeatedly referred to Gaza as “an open air prison” and tokenized Jewish historians who called out Israel. These aren’t red flags alone, but the tokenizing of Jewish voices, even if they’re correct, is a problem. Jews aren’t monolithic, and it’s important to get varied takes on conflicts they agree with. Unfortunately, as with Jonathan Glazer, that’s not happening.

Anyway, Variety also mentions co-star Jenna Ortega. Ortega resigned from Scream 7 in solidarity, but Barrera didn’t have anything nice to say about her. I originally thought she was simply reaching for sour grapes, yet the expose suggests that Ortega might not have been the ally I thought. Fair enough. I still think it was rude to throw her under the bus, though.

I’d like to push back on Barrera feeling “isolated” over her views, however. She mentions there’s a sexist double-standard in Hollywood surrounding politics, with her and Susan Sarandon not getting away with what Mark Ruffalo and Javier Bardem do. It’s true, but gender alone isn’t an excuse for bigotry. Ruffalo and Bardem have tangoed with Antisemitism before, whether willfully or unintentionally, and they’re not the allies I’d want to have. Especially Bardem, who made his presentation on Best International Feature Film about Palestine while ignoring how one of the movies was about the Iranian regime at this past year’s Oscars. That level of disconnect made many Iranian expats quite angry.

Outside of that, is Barrera not aware of what many Jews have felt for almost three years? Without chastising her specifically, Jews in and out of Hollywood have been attacked by gentiles for existing in public spaces. Some have also been murdered, with activists finding ways to cheer on their murderers in the name of “justice for Palestine”. It’s frustrating because many of those Jews do care about Palestinians. You wouldn’t know that from how they’ve been pushed out of progressive circles, though.

Speaking personally, life hasn’t been peachy. My synagogue was shot at early one Shabbat morning, hence I can no longer access the main entrance. Security has also ramped up significantly. I’ve been scared to have my yarmulke visible in public spaces, lest I become a target. And I’ve been recording the posters and graffiti on my Friday routes that’ve been spreading pro-Hamas or anti-Israel propaganda.

Whenever I mention this publicly, I’m gaslit and mocked. And yes, right-leaning Antisemitism’s dangerous, and many conservative pundits have been exploiting this uptick in vitriol for personal gain. I wasn’t born yesterday. However, at least they’re pretending to care. What’s your excuse?

Returning to Barrera, she mentions wanting to surround herself with pro-Palestinian voices from now on. What does that entail, I wonder? Will she box Hollywood talent into like-minded groups, weeding out those who don’t live up to her standards? Will she do extensive screening? And what’ll happen if said individuals disappoint her? Will she drop them completely?

Barrera’s remarks are a double-edged sword, made worse by the people she wants to work with. Susan Sarandon’s an obvious red flag, but Boots Reily wrote a dissertation online hand-waving Hamas’s Antisemitism. And Hannah Einbinder, who happens to be Jewish, signed a petition demanding The New York Times and other publications not document what Hamas did on October 7th. If Barrera wants me to feel bad about her, which I do, she’s not making a convincing case for herself here.

But that’s the problem: it’s easy to say that Barrera was wronged. I agree with that. It’s harder to sympathize with her going forward, though. Because remember, victims are people. And people often have flawed, unhelpful reactions to trauma.

I also don’t know if Barrera being the face of pro-Palestinian activism is a good idea. Palestinians have definitely received the short end of the stick, both from Hamas and Israel’s government, that much I can’t deny. But you can hear that directly from Palestinians, many of whom take issue with The West’s views on their government. Considering how celebrities co-opting a political cause also leads to gatekeeping, it’s something I’m not sure Barrera’s ready to deal with.

Does this mean she shouldn’t care about Palestinians? Of course not! I care about Palestinians, and I’m Jewish! But that’s being ignored because a Jew’s nuanced views on Israel isn’t something gentiles wish to hear. They see “Jewish” or “Israeli”, think “Zionist scum” and immediately disassociate altogether. That’s dehumanizing.

Perhaps I’m over-projecting my insecurities onto Barrera. I’m sure much of what I’m saying can be read into as such. However, this is a problem, and one that needs addressing. Because Israel isn’t going away. Nor are Jews. So while what’s happening in Gaza is horrendous, that reality should be acknowledged. I only hope Melissa Barrera understands this.