Who is Rashid Al Haddad, the 'hot Houthi pirate' being compared to Timothée Chalamet?

The battle between Western forces and Houthi rebels over Red Sea trade lines is being fought both on land and on the internet.

A young Yemeni social media influencer named Rashid Al Haddad has taken over the internet for posing aboard a cargo ship hijacked by Houthi rebels from Yemen.

He has earned the nickname “Timhouthi Chalamet” for his resemblance to American actor Timothée Chalamet.

Here’s all we know about him.

Who is Rashid Al Haddad?

Al Haddad is a 19-year-old Yemeni social media influencer dubbed the “hot Houthi pirate.” He identifies himself as a “media personality, actor, and photographer” on his Instagram Threads.

In an interview with YouTuber Hasan Piker, he said via a translator that “he is a Yemeni who stands with Palestine, adding that the “only motivation that [the Houthis] have is their solidarity with Palestine and to stop the attack on Palestine.”

On social media, he often shares messages of solidarity with Palestine along with pictures of himself dressed in brown khaki webbing and holding an AK-47 over his shoulder.

Al Haddad has said that he is “ready for sacrifice and eager for martyrdom” and that the Houthis “will bomb all Israeli ships.”

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His latest Instagram post read, “Unless they resist the Zionists, they do not know that the war will end only with the victory of Palestine, they dream of a dream beyond the sun.”

“I hope that my message reaches you, a free Palestine, and we ignite it against the Israeli aggression that violates human rights,” he said in another video.

Al Haddad also urged his followers to shift their focus from his appearance to liberating Palestine in one of his videos. In a post shared on X, he said, “I didn’t talk about beauty or anything else, but our cause is Palestine, and this is not the time to talk about beauty.”

His TikTok account, which is mentioned in the tweet, was taken down on Tuesday morning (16 January), according to media reports.

Is he really a Houthi pirate?

The 19-year-old influencer on 15 January shared a video claiming to be Houthi pirates aboard the Bahamian-flagged, Japan-chartered Galaxy Leader, a cargo ship seized by Yemen’s militant group Houthis on 19 November last year.

In the caption of the video that has been viewed more than 13 million times, he wrote, “Yemeni pirates posting casual tiktok’s while the entire western imperial core are having a meltdown about their blockade on their ships is the funniest shit of 2024, surely.”

The influencer originally posted footage of himself exploring the ship on his Instagram on 29 November.

Other men he saw in his videos appeared to be filming and taking pictures as they approached the ships in little wooden skiffs.

Nevertheless, there’s no clear evidence that he was a part of the raid that resulted in the capture of Galaxy Leader.

The Houthis are using the messaging app Telegram to post videos of their raids on container ships on the internet. Politicians and military leaders in Yemen have also posted speeches and messages on social media.

Has Galaxy Leader become a tourist destination?

There have been claims that Yemen has turned Galaxy Leader into a tourist attraction.

Groups of men have reportedly been seen exploring and taking selfies on the Israeli-linked cargo ship that the Iran-backed Houthis have seized, as per Dailymail.

Pictures seem to show individuals touring the vast ship, holding up the Yemeni flag, smiling at the camera, and snapping pictures of the ocean views from the deck.

🇾🇪‼️🚨 The “hot” Houthi pirate

Here you go ladies … https://t.co/4gazRh91Nn pic.twitter.com/dsUfJ2vyKw

— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) January 17, 2024

While other Yemenis roamed around the ship brandishing firearms, several were seen scrambling up the ship’s ladders.

The BBC reports that a slogan endorsing Hamas in Gaza appears to have been spray-painted on a section of the ship.

The ship was brought to the port of Hodeidah in the Yemeni north, which is under Houthi control after the siege. This came after threats were made by Houthis to attack Israeli ships due to Israel’s conflict with Gaza.

The owner of the ship announced last week that the 25 crew members, most of whom are Filipino, are still being held captive and they have been permitted to have “modest contact” with their families.

Red Sea attacks

The Houthi pirates are on the verge of destabilising global trade as they continue to target vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Only a few days after the militants launched their “largest attack” on ships in the Red Sea, the US and the UK also retaliated with attacks on over a dozen Houthi-linked targets in Yemen last week.

US forces on Thursday conducted a fifth strike against the Houthis, with Navy warplanes targeting anti-ship missiles that “were aimed into the southern Red Sea and prepared to launch,” according to US Central Command’s statement.

This came after the Central Command said Houthi rebels launched two ballistic missiles at the Chem Ranger, a US-owned, Greek-operated tanker ship. Its crew saw the missiles hit the water near the ship. No injuries or damage were reported, the command said.

The Iran-backed group, which seized much of northern Yemen in 2014, says its attacks are aimed at backing Hamas and Palestinians trapped in the Gaza Strip in Israel’s war on Hamas.

They claim to have targeted 27 ships to date, as per the New York Post.

With inputs from agencies