Actress Mindy Kaling arrives at the 2014 Vanity Fair Oscars Party in West Hollywood, California March 2, 2014.DANNY MOLOSHOK/Reuters
Just when you thought the most horrifying thing to come of this year's Oscars was John Travolta's name-bending 30 seconds on stage, along comes a brief exchange between actress-comedian Mindy Kaling and an E! reporter on the Vanity Fair red carpet, which brings with it an entirely new category of cringe-worthy I didn't think possible.
"Who's your type?"interviewer Alicia Quarles begins. It's an awkward enough question in itself, considering they weren't talking about men or dating.
"Good looking?" Kaling, The Mindy Project star replies, a fitting response to a shallow question.
"So, any colour?"
Pardon?
The ever graceful Kaling laughs it off and says yes, and moves along, but not before Quarles tells her to "kiss some black men on that show."
Ms. Quarles: I understand you work for an organization spelled with a single letter and an exclamation point, but that doesn't excuse you from basic journalistic – or human – principles.
I have many questions for you, inept questioner:
Did you just ask one of TV's funniest, most talented women about what colour of man she enjoys?
Do you actually have a vocabulary wherein people come in colours, not races? Are people comparable to Skittles in your universe?
Was there ever a good answer to this? Were you only asking Kaling because she's an Indian woman?
Were you at once being the most racist and sexist interviewer, or was this an intentional bait to get Kaling to make a juicy sound clip for your 12 a.m. broadcast?
Would you ever ask a man such a thing, or even a Caucasian woman?
Don't you think Mandy Kaling has had enough with shallow media people focusing on her race and figure, after her Elle cover debacle?
Have you started a much-needed journey of self reflection about who you are, and who you want to be? Might I suggest a perpetual loop of Canadian singer/songwriter Danny Michel's catchy and soul-searching song What Colour Are You?
What planet do you live on?
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Correction
An earlier version of this article stated that Mindy Kaling appeared on the cover of Vogue; she actually appeared on the cover of Elle.