“Aladdin” actor Mena Massoud appears to have deactivated his Twitter account after he made a “Little Mermaid” prediction that was ill-received by Disney fans.
Massoud has been under attack by Disney fans ever since Saturday, when he wrote, “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 undoubtedly get a sequel.”
His comments appeared to be in response to reports predicting that “The Little Mermaid” will rake in at least $110 million over Memorial Day weekend, per TMZ.
Massoud is best known for starring in Disney’s live-action take on the classic, in which he plays the titular character opposite Will Smith’s genie. “Aladdin” also premiered over that year’s Memorial Day holiday and brought in $116.8 million in domestic ticket sales. It earned more than $1 billion at the global box office within two months.
Many social media users took Mena’s comments as a negative for “Little Mermaid,” and said he was trying to say the new live-action film wasn’t worth getting a sequel. The film’s supporters were especially sensitive considering the backlash the film received ahead of its release — criticism some claim is due to racism. The lead actress playing Ariel, Halle Bailey, is black.
“First off who the hell is Mena Massoud? We all know Will Smith was the main reason we all went to see Aladdin. And I’ll stand 10 toes down for TLM,” one Twitter user wrote. “This is exactly why we need to pack every theater up on May 26th. Bring your kids, nieces, nephews, grandkids. The entire Family!”
“Aladdin tried it,” another user wrote. “…let’s show up and show out for the little mermaid like we did for black panther. Tired of these folks trying Halle like she isn’t THAT girl. Stunningggg and extremely talented. Bye devil! Declaring her movie sales will be over 1.7 Bill. You watch God work.”
Early reviews of “The Little Mermaid” are not great, as The Daily Wire previously reported. Moviegoers are complaining that the story is not original and feels unnecessary, especially when compared to the 1989 animated film it’s based upon.
One reviewer said the movie was, “filled with a few great performances from Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy, but it’s a mostly paint-by-numbers remake that isn’t as good as the animated masterpiece.”
