“It might sound weird to say about yourself, but for a long time I haven’t been a nice guy.” Words from BruineMehdi that take on a different meaning since the content creator is accused of inappropriate behavior. The man from Aalst himself remains tight-lipped. Hardly surprising, given that the TikToker has always shielded his private life as much as possible.
He had already been a phenomenon on TikTok and Instagram for some time, but in recent days, viewers of De slimste mens ter wereld also got to know BruineMehdi. This is the nom de plume of Mehdi El Hadri, a 32-year-old from Aalst with a Vietnamese-Moroccan mother and a Belgian-French father, who describes himself online as a natural born hater .
A definition he immediately lived up to in the Play quiz. Among other things, he spoke about his dislike of cheese, described sushi as ‘pretentious cold flat’, and even marathon runners were already the target of his jokes. Humor that until the accusations leaked was enjoyed by television viewers in Flanders, and with which El Hadri seemed well on his way to breaking through outside of social media as well.
Annoying little one
However, that was by no means the path the man from Aalst himself had envisioned. At school, he was anything but an outstanding student. “I repeated a year twice,” he says about this on De slimste mens ter wereld . “And I attended three different secondary schools. Teachers had something against me. But I was just a troublesome little brat. I didn’t listen. I talked back. I also had to go to boarding school, it was terrible.”
At the age of twenty, El Hadri eventually obtains his diploma via an intermediate jury. Afterwards, he briefly attempts to study event management and ends up in what he himself describes as a series of ‘shitty jobs’.
In a rare interview with De Morgen, the content creator reveals that this situation was eating away at him. “I always hoped that there would come a moment when I would wake up and my life would take a positive turn,” he states in that conversation. “But that just never happened. Until I started posting stupid videos on TikTok.”
SEE ALSO. Play appoints Christine Mussche for external investigation following rumors of inappropriate behavior by BruineMehdi
Rectal foam
It wasn’t until 2023 that El Hadri posted his first TikTok video. The impetus for this came two years earlier, during a visit to his GP. The doctor had prescribed rectal foam to El Hadri, and he saw the humor in it. “At the time, it seemed funny to me to share with the outside world that I had to inject a medicine anally,” he said in De Morgen . “In the end, I kept it to myself.”
When he finally decides to share that story, it generates hundreds of thousands of views. His second achievement (about the benefits of living alone, ed.) is also a hit. When his third video is also a success, El Hadri starts working full-time as a content creator.
Dictator of Belgium
His rants have led to him being invited as a guest by various platforms. Recently, he appeared in the VRT Max series *Gij weet? * where, entirely in his provocative style, he jokes, among other things, that he would like to become dictator of Belgium he commentated on the World Cup for VRT online, and he visited the popular podcast * Welcome to the AA* by Alex Agnew and Andries Beckers.
He also saw that same success cashed in last February at the Jamies, the online video awards. El Hadri, who now lives in Ghent, received the Yapping Jamie there an award based on the personality of the creator. And that is somewhat remarkable in the case of El Hadri.
Keep the mystery intact
Although he is visible online to tens of thousands of followers daily, remarkably little remains known about Mehdi El Hadri. Yes, he sometimes sends (unanswered) Instagram messages to Lionel Messi. Yes, he was once rejected by Ella Leyers. And yes, in his youth he was in love with Isabelle A and Karen Damen.
But it doesn’t get much more personal than those revelations which he made respectively on De slimste mens ter wereld and the podcast Het kletsuurtje . For instance, Mehdi’s surname remained unknown for a long time until the accusations earlier this week. Other personal details are also scarce. “I don’t see why I should share personal information or tell you all the jobs I have held,” he states in De Morgen . “That is not relevant. What difference does it make for my job whether I am 25 or 33?”
Little respect
An attitude that initially causes him few problems. Television-watching Flanders revels in the unfiltered man and fully embraces that self-proclaimed nuisance named BruineMehdi much to El Hadri’s own surprise. “It might be strange to say about yourself, but for a long time I wasn’t a nice guy,” he tells De Morgen . “Because I had to repeat a year in high school, I was behind my classmates. As a result, I was an insecure little boy who overcompensated for his insecurity with unruly behavior.”
According to El Hadri, he was a genuine little brat, although he does add a caveat to that in the same conversation. “I wasn’t a scumbag or anything. I didn’t get up to any illegal shit, I never served time in jail. I was rude, acted haughty, and consequently treated others with little respect. If people from back then see me on TV now and, because of my behavior at the time, think I’m an asshole, I give them 100 percent credit.”
Possible sexual offenses
Today, El Hadri’s earlier statements take on a different context in any case. Earlier this week, various testimonies surfaced on social media regarding alleged transgressive behavior by the content creator.
Television channel Play, where El Hadri is currently appearing in De slimste mens ter wereld , is already taking those allegations to heart. The channel appointed lawyer Christine Mussche, who is to conduct an “independent, external investigation as soon as possible.”
In the meantime, El Hadri has hired a lawyer of his own. “The only thing I can say about this at the moment is that no criminal offenses have been committed,” lawyer Axel De Schampheleire informed this editorial team. “At this moment, we have no other choice than to endure these allegations in a dignified manner. At this moment, we can only hope that a thorough investigation will be conducted. If, after investigation, it turns out that these accusations are unfounded, we will take the necessary steps. Ultimately, this concerns someone who is at the beginning of his career.”