Mindy Kaling responds to criticism of Velma’s role in Scooby Doo spin-off

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Mindy Kaling’s upcoming role as Scooby Doo’s Velma drew mixed reactions, which came as a sort of “surprise” to the The Office star.

In February, HBO Max announced that it had given the green light to an adult animated series that explored the origins of the iconic character. The streamer confirmed that Kaling will not only be producing the project, she will also be playing the lead role. While most fans were thrilled with the news, criticism started pouring in after HBO Max revealed that Velma will be reinvented as Southeast Asia.

“When it was announced that I was going to be the voice of Velma, people were very supportive and happy on Twitter,” Kaling said during his appearance Thursday on Late Night with Seth Meyers. “So I felt good because they’re really intense fans – fans of cartoons, comics. And particularly [for] a legacy show like this.

Kaling continued, “People weren’t happy. There were a lot of “So, isn’t Velma?” These kinds of tweets. “Not the classic Velma I always think of? “

Kaling said objections had been voiced by “a very small percentage of people,” but the intensity of the reaction came as a shock.

“First of all, I had no idea that she was eliciting such strong reactions both ways,” she said. “I just couldn’t understand how people couldn’t imagine that a really smart, nerdy girl with terrible eyesight who loved solving mysteries couldn’t be Indian. There are Indian nerds. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to people, but people say, “No, no, no. “

She continued, “But it got me thinking, ‘OK, we’ve got to be really careful with this character,’ which we’ll be because we love him. ‘

You can hear Kaling’s full comments above.

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