Mindy Kaling has been open about her weight both before and after losing 40 pounds. She’s also talked about how she’s had issues with her body for years, including back when she first met Amy Poehler and Tina Fey.
In fact, when the famous funny ladies were just getting to know each other, Kaling made a comment that sparked a response from Poehler and Fey that she didn’t expect.
‘It Was a Kindness for You to Acknowledge’
During the Tuesday, June 30, episode of Poehler’s “Good Hang” podcast, Kaling spent time “reflecting on a decades-old conversation with [Poehler and Fey] that has stayed with her ever since,” according to People.
During the interview with Poehler, “Kaling recalled meeting the comedian around 2005,” People notes. “At the time, Kaling was a guest writer on ‘Saturday Night Live,’ where Poehler and Fey were cast members.”
Getty“I remember this story, and I’m not proud of it,” Kaling said while talking to Poehler. “We were somewhere, and I was like, ‘I just want to lose 30 pounds.'”
“The two of you stopped and were like, ‘What? That is too much weight,'” Kaling recalled.
“I remember I was so happy for like three weeks after,” Kaling added. “I was like, ‘Wow, Amy and Tina don’t think I’m a fat load.’ I was so happy.”
Kaling also addressed the fact that making comments about your weight wasn’t unusual in the past, while Poehler noted, “Just like everybody else, we’re constantly trying to figure out everybody’s relationship to being on camera.”
Poehler continued by saying, “And I do think that, for better or for worse, what women do for each other and to each other is they talk about their bodies to each other.”
Kaling admitted that what “resonated most wasn’t that” the two other women “disagreed with her, but that they acknowledged the conversation instead of brushing it aside,” per People.
“I think to be able to be with two of my heroes and have them acknowledge — because you could have easily been like, ‘We don’t ever think about it. We’re naturally thin,'” she said. “I think really it was a kindness for you to acknowledge.”
Mindy Also Discussed the ‘Attention’ Around Her Weight Loss
Kaling isn’t the only one talking about her weight. On May 27, the star sat down for a chat on The View, and addressed the attention around her body.
“I think we all think it’s weird when public figures lose weight because we want this perfectly consistent narrative of their lives,” she said.
“But I have wanted to lose weight since I was 12 years old,” the star added. “I’ve been writing jokes about diet and body image for 20 years now. So when people are surprised or shocked that I wanted to lose weight, I’m like, ‘Wait, how is this new? This has been part of my personality since the Clinton administration!'”
GettyAt the same time, Kaling mentioned that she understands why fans might find it jarring when a celebrity changes their appearance.
She explained, “When we see, especially these days, someone that we’re used to a certain way look completely different, I think we feel betrayed.”
Hopefully, fans don’t feel that way (or, at least, don’t continue to feel that way) about Kaling while her body changes as she focuses on her health.
