Jenna Ortega has called for a ceasefire in Gaza, months after her former Scream VII co-star was fired for showing support for the Palestinians.
The Wednesday star posted a photo of a Palestinian family smiling in a field of flowers, apparently before the October 7 Hamas attack sparked the Israeli invasion.
‘Masses are debating a ceasefire, while thousands and thousands of children are being slaughtered. Where is the humanity,” she wrote.
Ortega shared other pro-Palestinian content on her Instagram in recent days, showing Israel killing dozens of refugees in bombing raids on Rafah.
But this is the first time she posted about the conflict on her main feed and wrote a statement about the situation.
Jenna Ortega has called for a ceasefire in Gaza, months after her former Scream VII co-star was fired for showing support for the Palestinians.
Ortega’s former Scream VII co-star Melissa Barrera was dumped from the horror film in November after making her own posts in support of the Palestinians.
However, hers were more provocative than Ortega’s and were deemed “hate speech” by production company Spyglass.
“Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp,” she wrote in an Instagram story.
‘Putting everyone in a corner, with no place to go, without electricity and water… People have learned nothing from our history.
‘And just like in our history, people still quietly watch it all happen. THIS IS GENOCIDE AND ETHNIC CLEANSING.”
Ortega posted a photo of a Palestinian family smiling in a field of flowers and asked ‘where is the humanity’ in the bombings that killed them
Barrera, who played Sam Carpenter in the film series, labeled Israel a “colonized” country in other posts and seemed to repeat an anti-Semitic trope about Jewish people controlling the media.
“I also come from a colonized country,” she wrote, adding a Mexican flag. ‘Palestine WILL be free.’
Another post complained that she was looking for videos from a Palestinian perspective to share but couldn’t find any in her feed.
‘Western media only show the [Israeli] side. Why do they do that, I’ll let you figure it out for yourself… Censorship is very real,” she wrote.
Spyglass didn’t hesitate to condemn the actress by explaining why she was kicked out of the film after anchoring the previous two episodes.
“We have no tolerance for anti-Semitism or incitement to hatred in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, distortion of the Holocaust, or anything that blatantly crosses the line into hate speech,” the report said.
Ortega’s former Scream VII co-star Melissa Barrera was dumped from the horror film in November after making her own posts in support of the Palestinians
Another post complained that she was looking for videos from a Palestinian perspective to share but couldn’t find any in her feed
“I also come from a colonized country,” she wrote, adding a Mexican flag. ‘Palestine WILL be free.’
Director Christopher Landon, who has signed on to make the upcoming film, distances himself from the decision, saying, “Everything sucks. Stop shouting. This wasn’t my decision.’
Barrera later made another post saying she “condemned”[ed] Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. I condemn hatred and prejudice of any kind against any group of people.”
However, she felt the need to use her platform and that everyone on earth “deserves equal human rights, dignity and of course freedom.”
Barrera has since shown no restraint in posting and sharing content about Gaza.
Ortega said nothing about Barrera’s posts and did not post about Gaza at the time, but threw the film into chaos the next day by withdrawing.
Her management cited scheduling conflicts with Wednesday’s taping, but the rumor was it was about her salary.
Barrera later made another post saying she “condemned”[ed] Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. “I condemn hatred and prejudice of any kind against any group of people.”
Barrera later told Rolling Stone that she was “at peace” with losing her place in the film and that it was too important to remain silent.
‘I’m not the first person this has happened to, but it was shocking. “I don’t even know what to say,” she said.
“I think everything that happened was very transparent, on both sides, and I know who I am, and I know that what I said always came from a place of love and a place of humanity and a place of human rights and a place of freedom for people, which should not be controversial.
“It shouldn’t be up for debate. So I am very at peace with it. The people in my family who know me know the truth about me and where I stand, and I think most people in the world know that too.”
Rolling Stone asked Ortega, who left the next day, “I know it was said at the time that she was already leaving, but that didn’t seem like the whole story. It seemed like there was some sisterhood solidarity.”
Barrera responded, “Listen, Jenna is a good egg. She is a good person and we love each other. She would show up for me and I would show up for her no matter what.”