'Thanksgiving' Faces Boycott Calls

The production company behind Scream 7, which fired Melissa Barrera from the project over comments she made on the Israel-Hamas war, is facing boycott calls on social media in relation to its latest movie.

Barrera led the past two successful Scream reboots, Scream and Scream VI, in which she played Sam Carpenter, the older sister to Jenna Ortega's Tara, who is the daughter of original Ghostface killer Billy Loomis. She was fired from the latest installment over pro-Palestinian statements made on social media that the production company, Spyglass Media Group, viewed as antisemitic.

On October 7, Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel it said was retribution for worsening conditions for Palestinians under Israeli occupation. Israel then declared war on Hamas and launched hundreds of airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, followed by extensive ground operations. At least 1,200 people were killed in Israel, and many hostages were taken, while more than 12,700 Palestinians have been killed, with many more injured and over 1.5 million internally displaced in Gaza, according to the Associated Press.

In response to Barrera being fired, some social media users are calling for people to boycott the Spyglass Media Group's new film, Thanksgiving, which hit cinemas on November 17.

Newsweek reached out to Spyglass Media Group for comment via email Thursday.

Thanksgiving is a slasher film directed by Eli Roth that is based on Roth's fictitious trailer of the same name from his 2007 movie Grindhouse. Starring the likes of Addison Rae and Patrick Dempsey, an axe-wielding maniac terrorizes people after a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy, with the killer picking off victims one by one.

The film was produced for just $15 million and reached $10.2 million in its debut weekend in the United States. Now a growing group of people online have said they don't plan on watching it and are advising that others do the same.

"Yeah don't just boycott Scream 7 don't see any Spyglass films including #thanksgiving," one person wrote.

"I really wanted Roth's Thanksgiving to do well, but I'm feeling the need to boycott Spyglass's output from here on out," said another.

"If you guys really want to hit them where it hurts hit them in their pockets. Boycott Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment, don't watch the new Thanksgiving movie or any of the upcoming movies produced by them. The only way Hollywood listens is when they lose money," a third person wrote.

A fourth added: "Boycott Thanksgiving, Spyglass, who dropped Melissa also produced."

However, others have said they're not going to let the recent news stop them from enjoying the film.

"Nah, Thanksgiving is an awesome movie," one person posted to X.

"Honestly #ThanksgivingMovie was better than I expected I hope they make another one," wrote another.

Not enough people are talking about how much this queen Jessica SLAYED in #thanksgivingmovie. Nell Verlaque is a new scream queen and I cannot wait to see more of her in the future!" someone else posted.

Barrera has been regularly posting to her Instagram account in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war.

"Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp," she wrote in one post on her Instagram stories. "Cornering everyone together, with no where to go, no electricity no water ... People have learnt nothing from our histories. And just like our histories, people are still silently watching it all happen. THIS IS GENOCIDE & ETHNIC CLEANSING."

Spyglass Media Group said in a statement provided to Variety: "Spyglass' stance 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."

On Wednesday, Barrera shared an Instagram Story condemning antisemitism, and adding that she would continue to speak out on the conflict.

"I condemn Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. I condemn hate and prejudice of any kind against any group of people," she wrote. "As a Latina, a proud Mexicana, I feel the responsibility of having a platform that allows me the privilege of being heard, and therefore I have tried to use it to raise awareness about issues I care about, and to lend my voice to those in need."

The actor continued: "I believe a group of people are not their leadership and that no governing body should be above criticism.

"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. Silence is not an option for me."