People Are Fighting About Sinbad’s Nonexistent Genie Movie 'Shazaam' Again

The often cyclical nature of pop culture is on full display once again this week with the latest resurfacing of what is certainly one of the most notorious examples of the Mandela effect.

To be clear, did Sinbad star as a genie in a film titled Shazaam? No, he most certainly did not. Does such a film exist? Again, no. Still, such claims have persisted for years now, with many going so far as to recall memories they say they have of watching this nonexistent film at some point in their childhood. While Sinbad, whose most recent credits include Atlanta and Good Burger 2, has had some fun with the mass confabulation confusion in the past, it’s worth stating here at least one more time: Shazaam isn’t a real movie. It never was.

Amid reactions to an X thread encompassing multiple famous examples of the so-called "Mandela effect" in action, Shazaam, which is not a thing that actually happened, generated the most conversation, namely due to the fact that some are still convinced that the world has been playing some sort of a trick on them (and/or they're just fucking around).

Key to the confusion here is a real genie-focused film starring Shaquille O’Neal. Kazaam, released in 1996 to bad reviews, has been mentioned by Sinbad himself as crucial to the ludicrousness of Shazaam’s continued discussion. Back in 2016, he noted in an X post that he "never played a genie," adding that those convinced otherwise were thinking of the Shaq film. That same year, he highlighted another facet of the confusion, like so:

In 2017, Sinbad mocked the conspiratorial tone some have taken with their Shazaameries, joking in a radio interview that he considers the not-real production "one of my favorite movies." He further joked that he made the film because he needed "cash for crack" at the time, as seen in the New Jersey 101.5 clip below.

Interestingly, I am now realizing that I have a memory of writing this exact same article, or at least one striking similar to it, not too many years ago. But that too could, in fact, be merely a confabulation of its own, built comfortably atop a feeling I have not infrequently these days.

As for Sinbad, he recently thanked fans for their ongoing support amid his recovery from a stroke in 2020.

"Expect to see more of me soon," he told fans following his virtual appearance at the A Different World HBCU College Tour 2024 event in Atlanta earlier this year.