After posting a photo of him looking ultra-ripped, actor Kumail Nanjiani became a trending topic on Twitter, a development with some social media watchdogs spreading baseless steroid rumors – and others seeing the discourse as racist.
“Happy New Year! I celebrated with a pandan tres leches cake from @marysmakeshop that made me think about everything,” wrote Nanjiani, 42, under the Instagram photo he posted over the weekend, modestly showing his long-sleeved biceps. “I only eat Pandan tres leches cakes from here.”
The innocent captioned photo has sparked extensive social media commentary about the comedian’s physical transformation he underwent for his role in Marvel’s upcoming “Eternals,” starring Angelina Jolie and Kit Harington.
Many haters have since taken to Twitter to theorize whether “The Big Sick” took Oscar-nominated steroids to pile on, but the comedian’s fans were quick to call such speculation racist and body-shocking.
Kumail Nanjiani ashamed of being jacked? Is very weird, ”explained one defender about the controversy in one now-viral tweet, noting that several white actors “did the same super soldier show and never got the faintest idea.”
Neither Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth nor Chis Pratt were accused of ‘roiding’ when they were ripped for different roles. commented another user, but Nanjiani – who is Pakistani-American – is uniquely confronted with speculation.
“Notice how you only ridicule the men of color, but not your white favorites,” another viral tweet pointed out, comparing those who speculate about Nanjiani’s ability to become naturally buff with those who make fun of actor Chadwick Boseman’s meager physical appearance before his death.
Representatives for Nanjiani did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment on the online debate.
The actor and screenwriter was previously transparent about his physique trajectory.
“I never thought I would be one of those people who would post a thirsty shirtless, but I worked way too hard so here we are,” he wrote in a topless image of himself in December 2019.
“I found out a year ago that I was going to be in Marvel’s ‘Eternals’ and decided I wanted to change my appearance.” Then he thanked the very human, non-chemical training team that helped him develop his muscles.
It was then that he also got anti-aircraft guns with that photo.