'Aladdin' actor deactivates Twitter after appearing to shade 'The Little Mermaid's' projected box office success

Halle Bailey’s loyal fan base is not letting anyone slander her or the upcoming live-action reimagining of The Little Mermaid. Actor Mena Massoud learned this the hard way when he appeared to have downplayed the film’s projected box office success in a now-deleted tweet.

Massoud has been facing an onslaught of backlash since Saturday (May 13), 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 seemed to be in response to reports that say Bailey’s film debut will bring in at least $110 million during its four-day opener over Memorial Day weekend.

Massoud famously starred in Disney’s live-action Aladdin as the titular character, which was remade in 2019 alongside Will Smith, who played the blue genie. The movie made its debut over the Memorial Day holiday and brought in $116.8 million in domestic ticket sales. Two months after its release, Variety reported that the film had crossed the billion-dollar mark at the global box office. Whether or not he intended for his remarks about the mermaid flick to be shady has yet to be explained. But Bailey’s fans could not care less, as they swarmed the actor’s tweet, ultimately leading to him deleting the post and deactivating his account. To say that Twitter users have not been easy on him would be an understatement, but you can see that for yourself below.

Bailey has long stated that her portrayal of Ariel, who is white in the original cartoon flick, is a huge accomplishment for diversity efforts. “I know people are like: ‘It’s not about race.’ But now that I’m [Ariel], people don’t understand that when you’re Black, there’s this whole other community. It’s so important for us to see ourselves,” she said in a February cover story for The Face magazine. At the upcoming film’s Los Angeles premiere, she again emphasized the importance of representation and paid homage to the Black princesses who came before her, Brandy as Cinderella and Anika Noni Rose as Tiana.

It’s safe to say that theaters will be packed for a minute as moviegoers help to push The Little Mermaid past the billion-dollar mark.

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