Actor Simu Liu is under fire after an old tweet in which he ridiculed Nicki Minaj’s singing recently resurfaced.
Marvel Studios had just released a trailer for Liu’s upcoming film “Shang Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings” when Twitter users dug up a tweet from 2012.
In the now-deleted tweet, Liu wrote, “I thought I was at a Nicki Minaj concert for 20 minutes before I realized it was a homeless man yelling at a pigeon.”
Some Nicki Minaj fans expressed their disappointment over the post while others accused Liu of being racist.
Many pointed out that Liu was just expressing his distaste for Minaj’s brand of music.
Soon after, more users dug up other tweets they found to be problematic.
In a resurfaced 2014 tweet, Liu asked: “Is it legal for Ariana Grande to be dating Big Sean? Just wondering.” Then, in a 2012 tweet, Liu used the word “retarded” to describe a pair of heels, according to Vice.
Liu has since apologized for his old tweet, saying it was a “highly dumb tweet” from “a 23-year-old trying to be clever.” He then tweeted that he deleted it.
Still, there are a few other users who used the post as an opportunity to respond to Liu with anti-Asian messages.
Many defended Liu, with some Twitter users pointing out that the timing of the tweets resurfacing is suspect now that he is set to be the first official Asian lead superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Following the backlash, Liu posted an Instagram story where he sang some lines from a Minaj song.
“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” is set to hit theaters later this year on Sept. 3.
Featured Image via Marvel Entertainment
