Sinbad’s kids would like to put the long-standing conspiracy theory to rest. Their father did not star in the 1990s film Shazaam because no such movie exists.
It “did not happen,” his daughter Paige Bryan told NBCLX. “Get over it.” If you are still in denial, his son Royce Adkins points out “people the closest to us who know everything about our family” have been uncertain if a Sinbad-led Shazaam truly exists.
According to OCN, those who swear by the existence of Shazaam say Sinbad starred as a bumbling genie who granted the wishes of two children after they summoned him by wishing their father would fall in love again. Some even recall other scenes involving a broken doll, as well as the final scene which—spoiler alert?—takes place at a pool party.
Shazaam believers have gathered on Reddit under the subreddit r/MandelaEffect, which is in reference to the Mandela Effect, a “theory that a large group of people with the same false memory used to live in a parallel universe.” The term is taken from the idea that a number of people think Nelson Mandela died while in prison though he actually died in 2013.
The confusion may stem from a number of possibilities. One of which being people are mixing up Shazaam with the 1996 movie Kazaam starring Shaquille O’Neal, who plays a genie who also helps a kid who needs help finding his father. “My dad and Shaq—people confuse them all the time,” Bryan said, adding, “Our dad has been mistaken for Shaquille O’Neal more times than makes logical sense.”
Sinbad believes a “Sinbad the Sailor” special from the 1990s where he was dressed as a genie may be linked to this Shazaam film.
Bryan also recalls his “very genie-ish” wardrobe in an appearance on the ‘90s show All That. Sinbad has even offered thousands of dollars to the person who can find a clip from Shazaam online, and no one has come forward.
Still, people swear it exists.
