Never Have I Ever director, producer, and writer, Mindy Kaling has recalled being branded as ‘unattractive’ by the media during the years she starred in the comedy The Mindy Project.
The Mindy Project ran for six series between 2012 and 2017 and followed obstetrician/gynaecologist, Mindy Lahiri (Mindy Kaling) as she tries to balance her personal and professional life, surrounded by quirky co-workers in a small medical practice in New York City. The character was inspired by Kaling’s own mother, an OB/GYN.
While the light comedy was popular in its time, Kaling has revealed that she suffered from being labeled as ‘unattractive’ at the time.
“I didn’t know I was so unattractive until I was the star of my own show,” the 43-year-old said in an interview with Marie Claire. “So not having to see those things, that’s wonderful.”
“The amount of articles that were like, ‘It’s so good for a culture that this unattractive woman is finally on camera,’” she added.
Kaling last year opened up about another hurtful incident when a journalist told her to “lose 15 pounds” when she was 25.
“I remember thinking that I am already someone who is getting up before a call time at 6:30 a.m. to go to the gym to do elliptical for 45 minutes,” she said on Good Morning America in August 2021.
“This is my greatest insecurity and someone just called it out. When that moment happened, it was so huge to me.”
“And it was one of those things where you can’t express anger and hurt in a room like that,” she added.
Kaling is currently working behind the scenes on the HBO Max comedy-drama The Sex Lives of College Girls.
She’s also working on developing the script for the forthcoming Legally Blonde 3.
Never Have I Ever season three returns to Netflix on Friday 12 August.
