Melissa Barrera felt like 'her life was over' following Scream VII firing

Melissa Barrera felt like her "life was over" after she was fired from the Scream franchise.

The In the Heights actress, who played lead character Sam Carpenter in the fifth and sixth Screams, was let go from the horror franchise in November 2023 over her pro-Palestine social media posts amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

After her public firing, work practically dried up and Melissa was left wondering if her career was over.

"It was the darkest and hardest year of my life, and I had to reevaluate everything. There were times where I felt like my life was over," she told The Independent. "It was quiet for, like, 10 months. 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.'"

After spending most of the year out of work, except for promotional duties for her films Abigail and Your Monster, good offers started pouring in around two months ago and she is now filming an espionage TV series.

"It felt like I had been invisible, and then all of a sudden, there was a switch that made me visible again," she shared.

The 34-year-old added that a part of her is now grateful for the experience because it made her realise there was more to life than acting.

"Acting is my passion - I didn't want it to just end. For the longest time, I gave myself value as a human because of my work. So when I saw it potentially ending, I was like, who even am I? And I realised that I'm so much more than just an actor - I'm a great sister, a great daughter, a great friend. And I'm very capable of finding success in something else if I wanted it," Melissa explained.

Scream VII will now star the franchise's original leading lady Neve Campbell.