Mena Massoud got a tonne of praise for his portrayal of the titular character in Disney’s Aladdin remake. The film even grossed a billion dollars at the box office, which no one thought was even possible to do with a remake. Clearly, audiences loved everything that the live-action remake had to offer. But people aren’t loving what he’s saying now.
The actor has been facing intense backlash for trying to compare Halle Bailey’s The Little Mermaid’s box office potential to his Aladdin. His now-deleted tweet made tonnes of angry fans descend upon him to make him realize how wrong he is for his disparaging views.
Mena Massoud Deletes Twitter After Angry The Little Mermaid Fans Tear Him Apart
As The Little Mermaid gears up for its theatrical release, there’s a lot of ongoing talk about the opening box office numbers. Trades are predicting that the film will land somewhere between $110 million to $130 million in its opening weekend. But Aladdin’s Mena Massoud has a different view.
In his now-deleted tweet, he 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 [‘The Little Mermaid’] doesn’t cross the billion mark but will undoubtedly get a sequel.”
Here’s a screenshot of the tweet:
The actor’s words come across as bitter. He predicts that even though The Little Mermaid won’t reach a billion, it will still get a sequel, unlike his film that hit the billion mark and there still hasn’t been another film following it. These are damning words from an actor and people didn’t let it slide.
Fans of Halle Bailey as well as The Little Mermaid took offense at Massoud’s words. One of them responded to the deleted tweet by saying, “Your film reached a billion but you’re still jobless… seems like you got other things to worry about.” But that’s not everything that was said by people.
Fans Show Their Anger At Mena Massoud’s The Little Mermaid Tweet
Even after Aladdin reached a billion at the box office, Mena Massoud complained about not getting more work in the industry. Talks of minorities not being given adequate opportunities flooded social media post his confession. Many sympathized with him back then.
But now, his seemingly tone-deaf comment for The Little Mermaid is poorly worded and didn’t go over well with the public. Also, his words seem harsh since Halle Bailey has been subject to racist narratives that undermined the box office potential of the film. Subsequently, Massoud deleted his Twitter account as well. But that didn’t stop fans from taking shots at him.
Here’s what the fans are saying:
He’s weird for saying that. ANYWAYS, we will be heading to the theatres to see The Little Mermaid ! 🧜♀️
— Paul⁴ ✱ BLM (@selenastan18) May 13, 2023
Just bitter Will Smith & Naomi Scott were bigger stars than him & carried the film. No one knows who Mena is. We don’t know yet if TLM will get a part 2 but bet they’ll do a live adaptation to TLM2:Returntothesea don’t know if they’ll keep it canon to Halle’s TLM
— FudgeWilde (@Fudgewilde) May 13, 2023
What was the point of him tweeting that
— Aero (@Aero1164) May 13, 2023
Idk why he thinks Aladdin was unique in terms of being rewatchable 😆 fans rewatch movies ALL the time, it’s normal.
— Mario🫧🧜🏽♀️ (@mmdisney200) May 13, 2023
didn’t he also cry about not getting roles after aladdin? maybe there’s a reason for that!
— viviana (fan) (@repmiIas) May 13, 2023
However, not everyone agrees with the public interpretation of his tweet. Many think he was just making a box office prediction regarding The Little Mermaid, and pointing out how people loved Aladdin enough to watch a remake several times. It now remains to be seen whether Halle Bailey’s film can indeed make a mark.
The Little Mermaid will be in theaters from 26 May 2023.
Source: Pop Crave
