‘Aladdin’ star Mena Massoud quits Twitter over ‘Little Mermaid’ backlash 

Egyptian Canadian star Mena Massoud shot to fame for portraying Aladdin in the superhit 2019 Disney live-action remake. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 15 May 2023
Follow

‘Aladdin’ star Mena Massoud quits Twitter over ‘Little Mermaid’ backlash 

DUBAI: Egyptian Canadian star Mena Massoud — who shot to fame for portraying Aladdin in the superhit 2019 Disney live-action remake — has quit Twitter over intense backlash after he posted a comment about the upcoming “The Little Mermaid” film, hitting theaters in the Middle East on May 25.   

In his now-deleted tweet, he said: “Our film (‘Aladdin’) 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.”   

The actor’s words were not taken lightly as fans of Halle Bailey, the actress who portrays the lead role in “The Little Mermaid,” rushed to berate the actor for his “bitter” comment.   

“Your film reached a billion but you’re still jobless… seems like you got other things to worry about,” responded a user on Twitter.  


Bella Hadid leaves Paris for Los Angeles launch event

Updated 11 March 2026
Follow

Bella Hadid leaves Paris for Los Angeles launch event

DUBAI: Supermodel Bella Hadid jetted from Paris to Los Angeles this week to launch her latest campaign with US fashion retailer Revolve.

The Palestinian US Dutch model was on hand in France earlier in the week, where she hit the runway at the Saint Laurent show during Paris Fashion Week.

She then flew across to Los Angeles to launch a campaign with Los Angeles-founded retailer Revolve, which was set up in 2003 by Michael Mente and Mike Karanikolas.

Hadid fronts a campaign launching the e-commerce department store’s first-ever in-house brand, Revolve Los Angeles.

“Born from a deep understanding of the modern woman and inspired by the city where it all began, our eponymous fashion house is a new expression of effortless glamor,” the new fashion label posted on Instagram alongside black-and-white images of Hadid in a selection of looks.

Prior to her trip to Los Angeles, the model showed off French label Saint Laurent’s latest collection in Paris.

Creative Director Anthony Vaccarello, marking his own 10th anniversary at the helm, sent out a parade of razor-sharp Smokings — the house term for its iconic women’s tuxedo — with plunging necklines and elongated silhouettes that crackled with the same transgressive energy founder Yves Saint Laurent unleashed in the 1960s, the Associated Press reported.

But Vaccarello didn’t stop at evening wear.

He extended the same sensual, body-skimming tailoring into daytime suits in fluid pinstripe fabrics with almost no interlining, effectively arguing that the tuxedo silhouette belongs in a woman’s life around the clock.

Plenty of brands in Milan showed strong black pantsuits this season, but the Saint Laurent version still occupies its own territory — sleeker, sharper, more loaded with meaning.

The other half of Vaccarello’s equation was lace, stiffened with latex and tailored into structured cardigan-like jackets and straight skirts.

It was lace with backbone — tough, not delicate.

Paired with smoky eyes, chunky gold jewelry and slingback heels, the collection made a case that Saint Laurent’s codes are as potent as ever.