Mindy Kaling Doubles Down on Emmys Racism Charge

Mindy Kaling has doubled down on her claim that she was singled out by the Emmys because of her race.

In an Elle interview this week, Kaling claimed that when "The Office" was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, the Television Academy told Kaling that there were too many producers on the show and that she — the only woman of color on the team — was getting cut from the list.

"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," she told the publication. "I had to get letters from all the other male, white producers saying that I had contributed, when my actual record stood for itself."

After the article ran, the Academy denied it.

"No one person was singled out," a spokesperson told the LA Times. "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."

It claimed that "every performer producer and writer producer was asked to justify their producer credits."

But on Wednesday night, Kaling "respectfully" called BS.

"Respectfully, the Academy's statement doesn't make any sense," she tweeted. "I was singled out."

"There were other Office writer-performer-producers who were NOT cut from the list. Just me. The most junior person, and woman of color. Easiest to dismiss. Just sayin'."

Kaling insisted she never wanted to bring up the incident because picking a fight with an entity that had such power over your career and reputation was obviously a bad idea.

"But I worked so hard and it was humiliating," she said. "I had written so many episodes, put in so much time in the editing room, just to have the Academy discard it because they couldn't fathom I was capable of doing it all. Thankfully I was rescued by my friends, the other producers."

"The point is, we shouldn't have be bailed out because of the kindness our more powerful white male colleagues," she continuesd. "Not mentioning it seemed like glossing over my story. This was like ten years ago. Maybe it wouldn't happen now. But it happened to me."

She challenged the Academy to own up, firing a parting shot: "Hey, @TelevisionAcad! I have been a proud member for years. I was the 1st woman of color nominated for writing a comedy script. Why not say 'years ago we prevented a deserving woman of color from getting credit for her accomplishments. We're sorry and it would never happen now.'?"

While Mindy's name ultimately was included on the nomination list, the show did not win that year.

The Television Academy said it no longer seeks those justification essays, although it does vet consulting-producer credits with the Producer's Guild of America to make sure every name submitted is functioning in the role.

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