Mindy Kaling shocked by backlash to South Asian ‘Scooby-Doo’ spinoff

Zoinks! Mindy Kaling quickly found out who was giving her trouble.

In February, HBO Max announced plans for a “Scooby-Doo” spin-off titled “Velma,” an adult animated comedy that details the character’s origin story.

At the time, the streaming service revealed that the executive producer Mindy Kaling will also be the voice of Velma. While the casting drew a lot of excitement, there were also haters – and criticism grew in June when HBO Max revealed Velma would be reimagined as South Asian.

On Thursday’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” Kaling was uproar about the character getting a re-imagined look.

“It was announced about a month ago that the character Velma would be reimagined as a South Asian. And people were not happy,” said Kaling, 42.

Mindy said that the initial reaction to her participation was generally positive, “When it was announced that I would be voicing Velma, people were very supportive and cheery on Twitter, so I felt wonderful.”

But Kaling explained that, with a favorite show like “Scooby-Doo”, there are usually very dedicated fans who are wary of the classic renaissance.

“These are really intense fans, you know? Like cartoons, comic books – those are huge fans,” Mindy continued, acknowledging the meaning of ‘toon. “And especially a legacy program.”

Fans pondered that this reimagined Velma was nothing like what they had envisioned, Kaling recalls. “There are a lot of ‘So it’s not Velma’…. “Not the classic Velma that I always think of,” she said.

But Kaling has defended the re-imagining.

“She is such a great character. She’s so smart. And I can’t understand how people can’t imagine a really smart, nerdy girl with terrible eyesight and love to solve mysteries could be Indian.

“Like, there are nerdy Indians. It’s not a surprise to everyone,” Kaling joked.

The actress noted that the upset fans were only “a small percentage,” but the outcry over the announcement got her thinking about how the film would portray the character.

“It really made me think, ‘Okay, we have to be really careful with this character,’” she admitted, adding, “What are we going to be because we really love her? . “

The upcoming project will be “a unique and humorous spin, revealing the complex and colorful past of one of America’s most beloved mystery solvers,” according to a source. HBO press release.