Over the weekend, comedian Kumail Nanjiani, star of the hit HBO comedy Silicon Valley, co-hosted the Film Independent Spirit Awards with Saturday Night Live's Kate McKinnon. Not bad for a nerd kid from Karachi. Except for the part where a photographer kept making racist remarks to Nanjiani on the red carpet.
Nanjiani, who moved to the United States from Pakistan in 2001, says that an unidentified member of the press repeatedly told him, "Smile, you're in America now," while taking photos of him on the red carpet.
When Nanjiani confronted him with an "Excuse me?" (this is the polite, red carpet, tuxedo-clad version of "What the fuck did you just say?") the photographer kept telling him "Welcome to America." Like five times.
"This is why I may not be smiling in some of the pics," says Nanjiani.
