I once heard that Quentin Tarantino, who I obviously love and think is a genius, says that there's no such thing as guilty pleasure, there's only pleasures. And I do love that idea, because I do think that there's a pretentiousness when people make a list of their favorite things. I like to live a life where I don't think of my pleasures as guilty pleasures.
Mindy KalingThere are little Indian girls out there who look up to me, and I never want to belittle the honor of being an inspiration to them. But while Iโm talking about why Iโm so different, white male show runners get to talk about their art. I always get asked, โWhere do you get your confidence?โ I think people are well meaning, but itโs pretty insulting. Because what it means to me is, โYou, Mindy Kaling, have all the trappings of a very marginalized person. Youโre not skinny, youโre not white, youโre a woman. Why on earth would you feel like youโre worth anything?โ
Mindy KalingWhen you're "East Coast" person, you are so insufferable, and you have no idea. And I was. One, because I was miserable, and nobody liked to be around a miserable person, and two, everything that I thought was so profound, everyone had already dealt with.
Mindy KalingLive performance really terrifies me. I haven't done it, really, in years. I think that's why I retired from my brief career in stand-up.
Mindy KalingMy parents were supportive of my creativity but did not have a lot of patience for whimsy with zero production value. They had stuff to do.
Mindy KalingI try not to put anything political on the forefront of what I'm trying to do creatively. At the same time, I do think it's wonderful when I hear people say that it's inspirational that I'm an Indian woman on camera. My life is very diverse, and my friends are a diverse group of people.
Mindy Kaling