Kumail Nanjiani has become the center of a body-shaming debate after sharing pics of himself and his wife Emily V. Gordon celebrating over the holidays. Immediately, Twitter reacted to Nanjiani’s buff physical appearance—a result of his transformation for Marvel‘s Eternals. The transformation itself sparked commentary, as many will recall, but the commentary this time around reached a new level, and sparked a backlash from folks who noted that the reaction is different when white stars like Chris Pratt didn’t receive the same scrutiny.
One user opined: “The Kumail Nanjiani thing makes me very sad. Our culture has created a system where people attempt to conform to impossible beauty standards to a point where it starts to render them unrecognizable, and then we mock and shame them. Men are not exempt from this.”
Another Twitter created a side-by-side post with the star and Pierce Brosnnan, captioned, “Image 1: Kumail Nanjiani bulked up to play some Marvel hero. Grotesque; unnatural. Image 2: Pierce Brosnan with a sorta-sh–ty body portraying a man who has allegedly just spent 14 months in a North Korean prison camp in Die Another Day (2002). What a man should look like.”
A fan quickly noted: “Chris Pratt had a bigger body transformation and I didn't hear you all shaming him back when. All of the MCU actors go through training for their roles. Kumail looks healthy and happy.”