" I did a horrible Book of Job explaining this … "
AladdinstarMena Massoudwants to start charging for his content on social media — and fans aren’t happy about it.
Earlier this week, Mena announced that he’d be using Instagram’s subscription service to post “most” of his content going forward.
“Content creation is something that I have really struggled with in the past and I really want to reward my most loyal fans. The people who really want an inside look into my life,” Mena shared in a video.
With a small subscription fee, that he promised to be “less than what a cup of coffee costs,” Mena said he’d be posting daily stories and having monthly lives and raffles.
Mena added that he also planned to discuss things that he’s “never ever talked about,” like philosophy.
But for those fans who don’t want to pay, Mena said that his “regular feed will still exist,” which will mostly be his more “polished stuff.”
Unfortunately, the news got a pretty mixed response, with many slamming Mena for asking people to pay for content that should be free.
“Bye then,” one fan wrote. “Picking money and being picky about fans. That’s not humble, that’s not nice, that’s looking out for yourself only.”
In response, Mena tried to reassure fans that his typical content will still be available without a charge.
“Content will remain the same. Subscription is just for people who want more personal content,” Mena replied to a fan who couldn’t afford the fee.
Finally, Mena admitted that he did a “horrible job” explaining the whole thing.
“You won’t notice anything has changed. I did a horrible job explaining this,” Mena wrote. “It’s just for people who want more/personal content.”
And Mena’s decision to utilize Instagram’s subscription service comes after he previously admitted that his role inAladdindidn’t quite guarantee the success people have assumed.
“‘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 sinceAladdincame out,” he said nearly seven months after the movie was released.
While Mena has now landed several movies sinceAladdin’s release, he still plans on moving forward with the subscription service.
Fans can now subscribe to the exclusive content on Instagram for $2.99/month.
