White Folks Are Going Out of Their Way to Discredit ‘Black Panther’ with Disgusting Fake Tweets and Other Tactics

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Black Panther” is well on its way to a record-making weekend at the North American box office but not without a couple hiccups. Baltimore Cinemark was issuing apologies after several screenings were canceled for “technical issues.” In Atlanta, GA, moviegoers were shocked when they sat down to catch an early screening only to see the final installment of 50 Shades of Grey in its place.

Tell me how the Atlantic Station premiere of Black Panther at Atlanta is actually showing 50 shades. Like what in the actual fuck . I’m livid ?? pic.twitter.com/nVxZROw65K

— Kemari (@tsnkra) February 16, 2018

Nothing was more disgusting than a series tweets from racist trolls alleging they were brutally attacked at theaters by Black teens. Many of the photos used were from actual cases of violence.

According to Buzzfeed, the photo below stems from a domestic violence case where an 18-year-old girl was imprisoned by her then-boyfriend in an apartment for four hours, where she was assaulted.

Several of the accounts have been suspended but the tweets keep coming. Luckily, real fans are catching on and calling out the fake tweets.

Fake posts are being created to make black people look bad and the sad part of it is some people will believe them #BlackPanther pic.twitter.com/XzNMoxFmWs

— Trapa Fasa (@trapafasa) February 16, 2018

Despite the many tactics taken to derail “Black Panther”, Walt Disney Co. estimates Friday that the superhero movie earned $25.2 million from its Thursday preview screenings. It’s the second biggest for a Marvel Studios film behind “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” which earned $27.6 million in previews, and the best for the month of February.

“Black Panther” is now pacing to earn over $165 million across the four-day holiday weekend, and surpass the previous February record held by “Deadpool” which took in $152.2 million in 2016.

Internationally, the film has grossed $47 million in its first three days with strong showings in the U.K. and Korea.

Associated Press contributed to this story.