Mindy Kaling is a beloved comedian, actress, producer, and writer with her own TV sitcom “The Mindy Project,” but she hasn’t received a Nobel Peace Prize just yet.
That may come as a surprise to one New Yorker party attendee: He confused Kaling for the 17-year-old Pakistani activist for girls’ education Malala Yousafzai, who recently became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
According to a profile by The New York Times, a man approached the actress at The New Yorker Festival after-party, which took place at a New York City venue known as the Boom Boom Room.
“Congratulations on your Nobel Prize,” the man said to Kaling, according to the Times. He went on, showering the actress with compliments and marveling at how well she recovered from her gunshot wounds by the Taliban in 2012.
“Did he really think I’m Malala?” Kaling said once the man left. “And that if I were, I’d be at the Boom Boom Room?”
“That’s the best thing that’s happened all night,” she added.
Yousafzai had been announced as the co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize on Oct. 10, the day before the New Yorker party.
Honored to have been mistaken for @MalalaFund! (yes, a little bit because she is 17). http://t.co/UD0kpqSwmX
— Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) October 26, 2014At the party, New York Magazine asked guests what they were doing at age 17 and Kaling replied “I was, like, stressing out about getting into college, like a nerd.”
The actress may not have won one of the highest honors in the world, but she has plenty of fans nonetheless. The panel discussion at The New Yorker Festival was so popular, it quickly sold out.
Clare Kim