Yahoo News 'Aladdin' Actor Mena Massoud Deletes His Twitter After Backlash Over 'Little Mermaid' Comments
The actor tweeted that he doesn't think The Little Mermaid will make $1 billion at the global box office like his 2019 Aladdin film did
Mena Massoud deleted his Twitter profile after facing backlash over his comments comparing his 2019 live-action Disney movie Aladdin to the new Little Mermaid film.
On Saturday, the actor, 31, responded to a tweet that shared box office projections for the upcoming Little Mermaid movie, which debuts in theaters May 26, and contrasted the numbers with Aladdin's opening weekend four years ago.
Aladdin, which also starred Will Smith and Naomi Scott, went on to earn more than $1 billion worldwide. The Lion King (2019), Beauty and the Beast (2017) and Alice in Wonderland (2010) also made it to $1 billion.
Massoud tweeted, "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."
Some Twitter users quickly responded to Massoud's comments, defending The Little Mermaid, which has faced racist backlash over Halle Bailey's casting as the lead. He has since deactivated his account.
"and what exactly did u gain from commenting this?" tweeted one person. Another wrote, "I'm honestly still confused as to why Mena Massoud tweeted this in the first place. Did he WANT to start a fight?" wrote one person.
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Another account tweeted afterward, "I don't understand why Mena Massoud felt the need to put down #TheLittleMermaid when black twitter showed up for him after he cried about being unemployed even after he did Alladdin."
A rep for Massoud did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
In December 2019, Massoud told The Daily Beast that he hadn't had any auditions since playing Aladdin in the hit Disney movie.
"I'm kind of tired of staying quiet about it," he said at the time. "I want people to know that it's not always dandelions and roses when you're doing something like Aladdin. 'He must have made millions. He must be getting all these offers.' It's none of those things. I haven't had a single audition since Aladdin came out."
He later added, "The big truth is I haven't really seen a big anything from [Aladdin]."
"It's wild to a lot of people," added Massoud. "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? … Can you just give me a chance?"
In 2020, it was reported that an Aladdin live-action sequel was in the early stages of development. This past March, however, Massoud was asked by a fan whether the followup is still happening, and he replied, "Very unlikely at this point."
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