“Aladdin” star Mena Massoud deleted his Twitter account after fans accused him of shading the upcoming live-action version of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.”
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Fans reacted to his response to a tweet about the projected box office numbers that The Little Mermaid will make on its opening weekend. The original tweet by user @billbrassky2620 reads, “ALADDIN managed to end up at over a billion worldwide. It depends on how well this holds up against SPIDER-VERSE the following week I guess,” in response to a tweet by The Hollywood Handle. The outlet said ‘The Little Mermaid’ is projected to earn $155 million on its domestic box office opening weekend and noted that ‘Aladdin’ made $112 million on its opening.
Mena Massoud deactivated after getting lashed for shading #TheLittleMermaid live action. This had to have just happened because when I went back to sleep and hour ago his account was still there. 💀 Halle keeps getting the last laugh. 🤭 pic.twitter.com/I3eQQ4QrFn
— ♦♠♥♣LunarSkye♣♥♠♦ (@LunarSkye) May 13, 2023
Mena Massoud responded to the tweet and said “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. My guess is TLM doesn’t cross the billion mark but will undoubtably get a sequel.” Shortly after the tweet, Massoud quoted his own tweet after fans accused him of shading TLM and said, “Nothing I say comes from a hateful or negative place. I am ALWAYS rooting for POC to succeed & anyone who knows me knows that. Also, rooting for a film to get a sequel, is quite a compliment. The internet just wants to fight, have a peaceful weekend.”
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Massoud reportedly deleted his Twitter account after he was accused of shading the film and spewing anti-black rhetoric. One user said, “Aladdin is my FAVORITE live action as of today! It was fun, magical, and everything the original Disney Aladdin was and more. It deserved its 1Billion earnings but I dont see why TLM doesnt deserve to accomplish the same. We’re a disney family over here, no need to drag anyone.”
Another wrote, “He keeps forgetting that most people tuned in because of Will Smith. He’s a nobody!” There was also a tweet that fans found Massoud stating that Black actors and actresses have the highest representation in Hollywood.
“Black artists have the highest representation for minorities in Hollywood followed by Asians, Latin Americans, Native Americans, and in last place… North Africans.”
oh ur going to hell pic.twitter.com/PPqS0UpaOz
— femi (@shurifilmz) May 13, 2023
Nah. If you were truly rooting for Halle, who’s been receiving vitriol from racists the moment she was cast simply because she’s a Black women, you wouldn’t have thrown subtle shade at the film by alluding to it not having that multiple viewing factor.
— Sherice (@ShericesPieces) May 13, 2023
Your wording makes it seem as people won’t want to watch this multiple times as they did your film. Curious as to why you believe that is?
— Gay Ice Cube (@devnsworld) May 13, 2023
Remember when they said Black Panther wouldn’t make a billion?
Remember when it made $1.3 billion and got Marvel it’s first Oscar nomination for Best Picture?
Yeah, The Little Mermaid will be just fine @MenaMassoud
— SimplySimone (@simoneumba) May 13, 2023
What is Mena Massoud up to after his breaking role in “Aladdin”?
Mena Massoud, who played the lead role of Aladdin in the 2019 live-action adaptation of the Disney classic, has appeared in several projects following his breakout role. Shortly after the release of “Aladdin,” Massoud starred in the independent film “Run This Town” alongside Damian Lewis and Nina Dobrev, and he also had a guest role on the Hulu series “Reprisal.” In addition, he appeared in the TV series “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan” as Tarek Kassar. In 2020, Massoud also appeared in the film “Strange But True,” which also starred Amy Ryan and Greg Kinnear. While he may not have landed a string of high-profile roles immediately after “Aladdin,” Massoud has continued to work steadily as an actor and has several projects in the works, including the Hulu series “The Hulu” and the feature film “The Royal Treatment.”