Handsome Houthi Rebel Dubbed ‘Timhouthi Chalamet’ Takes Western Internet by Storm
Social media posts by Mr. Haddad, if that is his real name, show him touring a ship commandeered by Houthi pirates in November.
A handsome young online influencer from Yemen that goes by the name Rashid al-Haddad on several social media platforms has been dubbed ‘Timhouthi Chalamet’ by his online fans and is racking up millions of views on those platforms since he was discovered by Western users.
Mr. Haddad, if that is his real name, surfaced earlier this week in a video posted to Twitter of him touring a ship commandeered by Houthi pirates in November and dragged into a port at Yemen. The cargo ship, the Galaxy Leader, has since become something of a tourist attraction, with residents of Yemen touring the vessel and posting videos of it online.
In the video, a somber-faced Mr. Haddad and a companion are depicted riding a skiff toward the Galaxy Leader. The video has been viewed 21 million times since it was posted on January 15.
The TikTok account that originally posted the video has since disappeared, but other online personas of Mr. Haddad remain on a number of other social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. A YouTube channel he supposedly operates has more than 26,000 subscribers.
In addition to a video of him aboard the Galaxy Leader, Mr. Haddad’s other offerings include jaunty shorts of him playing pranks on other residents of Yemen, swimming in the surf, praising the Houthi leaders, and berating Israel.
Despite being labeled a terrorist organization by the United States during the Trump years — a label President Biden removed shortly after taking office — the Houthis have for years devoted considerable effort to cultivating hearts and minds via social media.
The Houthis — backed by Iran — regularly post videos of their raids on Western ships in the Red Sea, as well as official military communiques boasting of their attacks. American and European forces in the region have been retaliating in recent days with successive waves of air and missile strikes against Houthi positions on the mainland.
The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it would re-designate the group terrorists in the coming days, a label that would require American financial institutions to freeze any of its assets in Western banks and prevent any member of the organization from visiting the United States.
It is unclear whether Mr. Haddad’s TikTok account, along with others that have disappeared in recent days, were removed by the platforms themselves or whether the original user deleted the accounts.
The ‘Timhouthi Chalamet’ moniker is a reference to the French-American actor and heartthrob, Timothee Chalamet, who most recently played Willy Wonka in a successful reboot of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” The actor is said to be romantically involved with Kylie Jenner.
