Aladdin star Mena Massoud quits Twitter after backlash over Little Mermaid comments
Mena Massoud, the Egyptian-Canadian actor who played the title character in Disney’s 2019 live-action remake of Aladdin, has deleted his Twitter account, following a put-down post about another Disney live-action reboot of a beloved animated feature.
Massoud’s tweet was made in response to a report — by The Hollywood Handle (not to be confused with The Hollywood Reporter) — that The Little Mermaid, starring Halle Bailey, was on track to earn US$115 million (S$154 mil) on its domestic box-office opening weekend, which was a few dollars more than what Aladdin did on its opening weekend (US$112 million).
Massoud, however, didn’t think the Rob Marshall-helmed movie would make that much.
“Our film was unique in that audiences went to watch it multiple times. It's the only way we reached the billion-dollar mark with our opening," he tweeted. “My guess is TLM doesn't cross the billion mark but will undoubtedly get a sequel.”
It was the second part of the comment that rubbed The Little Mermaid fans the wrong way and it didn’t long before they pounced on him, forcing Massoud to delete his account.
The tweet that started it all: Massoud may have deleted his Twitter account but the Internet (via TMZ) will never forget what he said about The Little Mermaid's box-office prospects.
One Netizen responded (via Unilad), “The OG Little Mermaid is like 3X more loved than OG Aladdin, I think that’ll play into the box office.”
Another offended fan wrote, “I loved Aladdin and literally on top 5 of my most fave Disney remakes, being pessimistic on a movie that hasn’t been out yet but praised by critics is just disappointing. I’m so disappointed in you.”
“Sir you’re being bitter cuz the movie is doing way better than Aladdin despite it not being out yet..”, was another reaction.
Maybe Massoud would’ve been less worked up had he read Deadline, which projectedThe Little Mermaid raking in US$110 million over the four-day Memorial Day weekend. (Listen: Between The Hollywood Handle and Deadline, we would pay more attention to the latter. Also, did he factor in inflation? Just saying.)
That said, can you really blame Massoud for being bitter?
Despite Aladdin, directed by Guy Ritchie, making over US$1.05 billion worldwide, Massoud didn’t parlay its success into more leading roles. In a December 2019 interview with The Daily Beast, Massoud claimed he hasn’t had a single audition since the movie’s release.
“It’s wild to a lot of people,” he said then. “People have these ideas in their head. It’s like, I’m sitting here being like, Okay, Aladdin just hit $1 billion. Can I at least get an audition? Like I’m not expecting you to be like, here’s Batman. But can I just get in the room? Like, can you just give me a chance? So it’s not always what you think.”
In the same week Massoud’s interview came out, Disney announced that they were developing a Disney+ spin off of Aladdin, focusing on the doofus Prince Anders, one of Princess Jasmine’s (Naomi Scott) suitors, played by Billy Magnussen.
In 2020, Variety reported that Disney is working on an Aladdin sequel.
Massoud’s most recent role is that of ‘Egyptian Ambassador’ in the comedy anthology History of the World Part II (now out on Disney+). His other post-Aladdin credits include the action thriller Reprisal (he booked the role before Aladdin’s release), the Netflix rom-com The Royal Treatment, and Amazon Freevee’s festive-themed Hotel for the Holidays.
The Little Mermaid opens in cinemas on May 25.
Photos: TPG News/Click Photos
