Know who is the owner of Spyglass Entertainment
Spyglass Entertainment, the film and television production company co-founded by Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum, faced controversy when they terminated actress Melissa Barrera from the cast of Scream VII due to her social media posts related to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
People reported that Barrera was let go on Tuesday, November 21, with the official reason cited as her Instagram stories being perceived as anti-Semitic.
Who is the owner and CEO of Spyglass Entertainment and what is its net worth in 2023
Well, not gonna buy my ticket for #ThanksgivingMovie because apparently #SpyglassEntertainment is out here saying stupid shit and firing #MelissaBarrera pic.twitter.com/N91Po9l54K
— William Has Given Up (@ClodzillaJr) November 22, 2023
Just a list of Spyglass Entertainment’s current and upcoming productions for no particular reason. 🍉#NoSamNoScream pic.twitter.com/iFO6Pqi21C
— Mal (@dancerswhirl) November 22, 2023
On July 15, 2021, Lionsgate acquired 200 films from The Weinstein Company’s film library for $191.4 million, which until then had been owned by Spyglass.
Gary Barber, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Spyglass Media Group, LLC, which was formerly Spyglass Entertainment, clarified that the decision was based on zero tolerance for antisemitism and hate speech.
Spyglass has two co-chairman and CEOs, Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum and they have the same designations in the holding company of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), which had at that time recently emerged from bankruptcy, as per Bloomberg.
Barber was born in 1957 to a Jewish family in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Rojeris is also from a Jewish family in Teaneck, New Jersey and is the son of Arlene and Norman Birnbaum.
The company accused Barrera of making false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, and Holocaust distortion. Despite Spyglass’s explanation, some netizens expressed outrage over Barrera’s removal, linking it to her support for the Palestinian cause.
Fans to Boycott Scream VII?
Fans vowed to boycott Scream VII, and speculation arose that the termination was influenced by the Jewish background of Spyglass co-chairmen and CEOs, Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum.
Barrera had posted pro-Palestinian statements on her Instagram, expressing her views on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Spyglass insisted that they do not tolerate hate speech in any form.
Barrera, in an earlier post on October 27, 2023, clarified that her call for “Free Palestine” did not imply harm to Jews and emphasized her desire for freedom and safety for both Palestinians and Jews worldwide.
Barrera’s Instagram Story
The actress seemingly alluded to her termination in an Instagram Story on November 20, 2023, stating, “At the end of the day, I’d rather be excluded for who I include than be included for who I exclude.” It’s essential to note that this incident occurred against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas conflict, with casualties reported on both sides.
The death toll in Israel since Hamas’s initial attack on October 7, 2023, reached approximately 1,200 people, while over 12,000 civilians in the Gaza Strip were killed by Israeli airstrikes in the last two months, according to several reports.