You wouldn't reminisce about the hilarity that ensued on The Office and leave out Mindy Kaling, right?
Right! Not only did she star on the show, but Mindy was also a senior staff writer and an executive producer for the long-running series. So, it would be pretty impossible to ignore her contributions.
Well, unfortunately when it came to award season during her early years on the show, Mindy believes the Television Academy tried to do just that. In a recent interview with Elle, Mindy spoke candidly about the sexism she experienced at the Emmys.
The Office was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series early on in her tenure on the show. The Television Academy told Mindy they were going to cut her from the list of nominees, because there were too many producers on the show already nominated.
That's right, they wanted to exclude the only woman of color on the team from receiving an Emmy. Mindy recalls going through hoops to prove herself.
"They made me, not any of the other producers, fill out a whole form and write an essay about all my contributions as a writer and a producer."
"I had to get letters from all the other male, white producers saying that I had contributed, when my actual record stood for itself.”
And guess what? After all of that unnecessary labor, the show didn't even win the Emmy!
Although they should've known then, after seeing Mindy as a leading actress, two-time SAG Award-winner, mom, and a NYT bestselling author, they now know to PUT SOME RESPECT ON HER NAME!
You can read Mindy Kaling's full interview on Elle.
UPDATE: The Television Academy released this response to Mindy Kaling's allegation:
“No one person was singled out,” the TV Academy said in a statement. “There was an increasing concern years ago regarding the number of performers and writers seeking producer credits. At the time the Producers Guild worked with the Television Academy to correctly vet producer eligibility. Every performer/producer and writer/producer was asked to justify their producer credits. We no longer require this justification from performer/producers and writer/producers, but we do continue to vet consulting producer credits with the PGA to ensure those credited are actually functioning in the role as a producer.”