Kumail Nanjiani said 'thank god' people stopped talking about paparazzi photos of him because the 'Bean Dad' Twitter controversy went viral

• Kumail Nanjiani told Vulture he was thankful for the "Bean Dad" Twitter controversy.
• "Bean Dad" references a controversial January Twitter thread about a father and daughter.

Kumail Nanjiani said in an interview with Vulture that he was grateful when viral Twitter controversy paused social media fervor surrounding photos of him in January.

Nanjiani underwent a physical transformation that he revealed in late 2019 in anticipation of his role in Marvel's "Eternals," leaving him with a muscular physique. A little over a year later, photos that he posted of himself drew accusations that the actor was using steroids, Insider previously reported.

As photos of the actor, including one paparazzi photo of him looking "huge" in his gym parking lot, went viral on social media in January, Nanjiani became an internet "punching bag," Vulture's E. Alex Jung wrote.

That same month, the podcaster and musician John Roderick posted a thread on Twitter in which he said he made his nine-year-old daughter teach herself how to use a can opener to open a can of beans after she said that she was hungry. Twitter users swarmed on the thread, calling Roderick's behavior abusive. In the process, people also uncovered some of Roderick's old tweets that contained antisemitic language. Roderick eventually apologized for the thread and his past tweets.

Nanjiani said that the discourse around Roderick's viral thread - an incident that has come to be known as "Bean Dad" - distracted Twitter audiences from the gym paparazzi photo and ridiculing his appearance.

"I was like, 'Thank God for Bean Dad,'" Nanjiani told Vulture.

Speaking with GQ recently, Nanjiani said that he now feels "very uncomfortable" speaking about his body, which has been the subject of intense scrutiny on social media.

Nanjiani told GQ that he had originally posted shirtless photos of himself because he "wanted the industry to see [him] differently" and receive offers for more varied roles - something that the actor told Vulture did ultimately happen.

"With brown people, there are very specific roles that we used to get," he told GQ. "Either we're terrified or we're causing terror. Those are the only two options we had."

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