Aladdin actor Mena Massoud faces backlash after his dig at The Little Mermaid collections, deactivates Twitter

Netizens bash Mena Massoud for his tweet downplaying The Little Mermaid's projected box office collections, call him 'unemployed'

By Meenal Chathli

Updated on Aug 22, 2023 | 02:13 PM IST | 1.1M

Mena Massoud is known for starring in the 2019 film Aladdin (Instagram)

Egyptian-Canadian actor Mena Massoud has deactivated his Twitter account after facing massive backlash because of his tweet against Halle Bailey starrer The Little Mermaid's box office collections. Keep reading to know what he said and the harsh criticism he faced.

Mena Massoud takes dig at The Little Mermaid collections

The 31-year-old actor known for starring in Aladdin tweeted about the projected box office collections of Disney's upcoming live-action adaptation The Little Mermaid on Saturday, May 13. "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," he said.

ALSO READ: Aladdin Movie Review: Will Smith, Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott's film proves that old is gold

The actor's tweet was in response to a fan tweet quoting a report that claimed The Little Mermaid is expecting to earn around $115M on its domestic box office opening weekend while Massoud starrer Aladdin earned $112M in comparison. The fantasy film co-starred Naomi Scott as Jasmine and Will Smith as Genie. It crossed the billion-dollar mark at the global box office two months after it was released.

Mena Massoud faces backlash for his tweet against The Little Mermaid

Despite Aladdin's collections, the film did not receive a sequel and fans seem to think this is one of the main reasons Massoud is "salty" and "jealous" in regard to The Little Mermaid and its potential success. They were not happy with him already downplaying the Halle Bailey starrer film's box office collections and made sure the actor knew about it. Some said he was "anti-black" while others joked about him not getting work after Aladdin.

One user tweeted, "Not Mena Massoud tryna pipe up and speak on The Little Mermaid. Just checked Mr billion dollar movie's IMDB post-Aladdin and it's giving unemployed [skull face emoji]." Another wrote, "@MenaMassoud, you're pea green with envy because your CGI monster snooze fest of a very bastardized #Aladdin made a billion dollars, got forgotten, & you were never cast in anything meaningful again. #HalleBailey is a true star & #TheLittleMermaid is about to eclipse everything."

A third commented, "Aladdin made a billion, but what has it done for Mena Massoud's career? Is he a household name or 'just the guy who played Aladdin'? The nerve of this man." A fourth said, "The Little Mermaid movie isn’t released to public yet & Mena Massoud is already making shady comments. He has had no big roles ever since Aladdin & used to complain that Disney never gave him more work as if it should be handed to him. Also, Mena is VERY BITTER [laughing face emoji]."

The actor then deleted the tweet and deactivated his Twitter account in response to the brutal criticism. A user then remarked, "While on the unemployment line, Mena Massoud decided 2 slander #TheLittleMermaid, saying it'll never be like Aladdin bc it'll never make a billion dollars & ppl won't see it 2xs Twitter dragged him for filth & he deleted his account faster than casting directors deleted his career." The Little Mermaid will release on May 26, 2023.

ALSO READ: The Royal Treatment Review: Laura Marano and Mena Massoud's delightful film CURES our romantic comedy blues