Teens Caught on Camera Spitting on Asian Woman's Door

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



Surveillance Video Shows 2 Males Spitting On Door Amid Pandemic
In Bellflower, California, two teens were caught on surveillance video spitting on the door of an Asian woman's home. "One spits a huge loogie on the side of my door, which I cleaned up not too long ago. It was dried up and disgusting," said Heather, who lives at the home with her husband and found the footage on her security camera. "The other one was discovered when my husband went to go walk the dogs and when he came back inside the house he noticed the door knob was really slimy."

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Bystander Intervention Training to Stop Anti-Asian Harassment
With anti-Asian and Asian American and xenophobic harassment on the rise across the U.S. amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Hollaback! and Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC are holding a series of bystander intervention trainings -- a virtual workshop on how you can intervene effectively as a bystander without compromising your safety the next time you see Anti-Asian harassment online or in-person. Find more information and register here.

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Kimarlee Nguyen, Writer Who Explored Cambodian Roots, Dies at 33
Kimarlee Nguyen's writing, imprinted with her parents' experience living under the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, was as restrained as the Cambodian elders she conjured in her fiction, short stories that sketched precarious, haunted lives in a chilly new country." She died of the novel coronavirus on April 5, on the way to the hospital in nearby Everett, Massachusetts.

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Rapper Dumbfoundead To Front Comedy Inspired By His Life
Peacock has put in development Big Dummie, a half-hour comedy inspired by the life of Korean-American rapper Jonathan Park (aka Dumbfoundead), from NCIS: Los Angeles co-star Eric Christian Olsen and his Cloud Nine Productions and CBS Television Studios. Written by Lisa Parsons (Insatiable) and set in Los Angeles' Koreatown, Big Dummie centers on a 30-year-old rapper, played by Park, who endures an early mid-life crisis as he loses relevancy in the rap world and falls out of touch with his family and friends.

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Never Have I Ever
Teen newcomer Maitreyi Ramakrishnan stars in Never Have I Ever is a new Netrlix coming-of-age comedy about the complicated life of a modern-day first-generation Indian American teenage girl. Created by Mindy Kaling, and inspired by her own childhood, the series centers on Devi, an overachieving high school sophomore who has a short fuse that gets her into difficult situations. Never Have I Ever premieres on Netflix on April 27.

Awkwafina & Mindy Kaling Join Ocean's 8 Cast

By Marvin Yueh. Cross-Posted from Kollaboration



Earlier today, Deadline confirmed that deals are close for the initial cast of their new heist movie Ocean's 8, directed by Gary Ross (The Hunger Games and Free State of Jones). Big names in announcement include Oscar winners Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, and Anne Hathaway as well as notable names like Helena Bonham-Carter and Rihanna. While the all-female principal cast of this traditionally male-centric franchise might have most people's attention, we were intrigued by two familiar names in the announcement. Major roles in the film has been offered to Asian American actors Mindy Kaling and Nora Lum (aka Awkwafina).

Fox cancels 'The Mindy Project'

But Mindy Kaling's comedy could have a second life on Hulu



Bad news, Mindy fans. Fox has canceled The Mindy Project. However, Mindy Kaling's cult-favorite romantic comedy, which wrapped up its third season in March, could find second life on a digital platform.

Fox cancels The Mindy Project -- but there's hope at Hulu

The Mindy Project, which holds the distinction of being created, written, produced by and starring an Indian American woman, has enjoyed a modest, loyal following, but has been consistently dogged by low ratings.

The show won't see a fourth season on broadcast, but it's possible you haven't seen the last of Dr. Lahiri and Co. The show's producer, Universal Television, is reportedly in talks with Hulu for multiple additional seasons. It makes sense, as Hulu already owns the current streaming rights to all of The Mindy Project episodes.

And Kaling doesn't seem to be worried. Shortly after news broke that Fox would not be renewing her show, she posted this very calm and serene video on Instagram that ends with knowing wink:

See Mindy Kaling's hilarious Harvard commencement speech

"Most of you will go on to the noblest pursuits, like helping a cable company acquire a telecom company."



On Wednesday at Harvard Law School's commencement ceremony, graduates were given an inspirational address from one of our nation's top legal minds: Mindy Kaling. Okay, so not quite a lawyer. She doesn't even play one on television! But Kaling, writer/producer/star of The Mindy Project, took to the podium anyway. While she was short on wise words ("Celebrities give too much advice...") she made it up with humor and charm.

Mindy Kaling Plugs AMC Antiheroes, Candy Crush and Her Book in Hilarious Harvard Law Speech

As she started her address, Kaling was faced with the disappointing truth she would not be receiving an honorary legal degree ("So apparently, there's a little miscommunication...") but she powered through. Her remarks included shout outs to everyone from Harvard Law alumni Barack Obama and Elle Woods to her own Indian immigrants parents and fellow speaker -- and fellow Desi -- U.S. attorney Preet Bharara.

Check out the video (her speech begins at the three-minute mark):

There's something different about Mindy Kaling's Elle cover

Mindy looks awesome, but she gets a significantly different look than her fellow cover gals



So cool to see actor/writer/producer Mindy Kaling looking hot and gracing the cover of Elle -- one of four covers featuring television's brightest female stars. She looks awesome... until you realize she didn't quite receive the same layout treatment as fellow cover gals Amy Poehler, Allison Williams and Zooey Deschanel.

Mindy Kaling's Elle Cover Looks Different Than the Others

Mindy -- the lone woman of color -- gets the black and white, up-close and cropped cover image, while Poehler, Williams and Deschanel all pretty much get the full-color body shot. What's up with that?

Maybe it's a simple coincidence. Maybe Elle editors didn't know what to do with Kaling's size 8 figure and browner-than-white complexion. Maybe they thought nobody would notice. Whatever the reason, it's a fairly significant case of one-of-these-things-is-not-like-the-other. And yes, people noticed.

That said, I think Mindy's cover looks pretty darn awesome. Here's the full cover: