Mindy Kaling hails comedy 'heroes' Tina Fey and Amy Poehler
Mindy Kaling has heaped praise on Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, her comedy "heroes".
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler have played an important role in Mindy Kaling's weight-loss journey.
The 47-year-old star has recalled meeting Tina and Amy, two of her comedy "heroes", during her younger years, and Mindy took a lot of encouragement from their first-ever conversation.
Speaking on Amy's Good Hang podcast, Mindy recalled: "I don’t know why I remember this story, and I’m not proud of it.
"I don’t know why I would possibly come up with two women that I admire … but we were somewhere and I was like, ‘Yeah, I just want to lose 30 pounds.’"
Mindy remembers Tina and Amy advising her that her weight-loss goal was too much.
The actress reflected: "I remember I was so happy for, like, three weeks after that. I was like, ‘Wow, Amy and Tina don’t think I’m a fat load.’ I was so happy, [like] even in the aughts, you guys were like, ‘What, are you crazy?’"
Mindy admitted that Tina and Amy's comments meant a lot to her, as she admired both women so much.
She said: "You could have easily been like, ‘We don’t ever think about it. We’re naturally thin'.
"It was a kindness for you to acknowledge that, so I could see that in my heroes. It is really fascinating and nice that culture has changed so much."
Earlier this year, Mindy admitted that she doesn't enjoy having her weight "scrutinised".
The actress has lost a significant amount of weight in recent years, but Mindy feels uncomfortable with the focus on her appearance.
The Hollywood star - who first gained recognition for her role in The Office, the hit TV sitcom - told Bustle: "It’s sometimes no fun when one of your favourite actors loses weight. You have an idea of what they were like when you grew attached to them, and it made them endear themselves to you.
"Of course, it’s never a joy to be scrutinised, but also I truly understand it, as someone who consumes pop culture."
Mindy insisted that her weight-loss efforts were about much more than vanity.
She said: "Do I wake up every day being like, ‘I look amazing and I’m so gorgeous’? No, unsurprisingly, but I truly feel so healthy.
"When I was younger, I would want to lose weight because of vanity reasons. Now I want to lose weight or have lost weight because I want to stave off things like diabetes."
