Mindy Kaling Says She Never Felt Like She Was 'Part of a Comedy Clique' in Hollywood — and Admits That Made Her 'Jealous'

Mar. 15, 2025

Mindy Kaling in 2025.Photo:Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty

Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty

Despite being one of the most successful female comedy writers and actresses,Mindy Kalingsays she often felt left out of the “comedy cliques” that abounded in Hollywood in the early 2000s.

Speaking on an episode ofArmchair ExpertwithDax Shepard, 45-year-old Kaling opened up about the work she took on during and after her stint as Kelly Kapoor onThe Office, saying, “I was never part of a comedy clique.”

“I was really jealous and I had a chip on my shoulder about it. Because in that aughts time [the early 2000s], you were in a clique or you weren’t. I was onThe Office,so maybe people were like, ‘Well, she’s there,’ and maybe you could argue that that was a clique,” Kaling said. “But the writing stuff was very competitive with each other. We all had our own private ambitions, our own stuff we wanted to do. We wanted to write the best scripts, kill the table read, have Steve Carell think we were the funniest writer.”

Angela Kinsey and Mindy Kaling on ‘The Office’ in 2007.NBCUniversal via Getty

NBCUniversal via Getty

She continued: “I was jealous of Judd [Apatow] and Seth [Rogen] and Jason [Segel] and then there was Amy [Poehler] and Tina [Fey], and Will [Ferrell] doing the ice-skating movie … I felt like the entire aughts was me coming up on a show that I loved but being like, ‘Why can’t I be in a clique?’ "

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

But not being part of a “clique,” she explained, ultimately helped to ignite her drive.

“It really fueled me in a good and bad way, where I was like, ‘I don’t have Lorne [Michaels], I don’t have Judd. I don’t have any of these people who are going to do something for me. I gotta do it myself. I’m gonna show them all.’ "

Ike Barinholtz and Mindy Kaling on ‘The Mindy Project’ in 2015.Evans Vestal Ward/Universal Television/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Evans Vestal Ward/Universal Television/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

She continued: “It became so awkward because I didn’t feel like I knew how to jump in. And I also knew — because I’d been onThe Office— that feeling that someone’s trying to be part of it, and I didn’t want to do that. Desperation.”

“So I just went back to my trailer,” Kaling added. “But I remember thinking, ‘What a missed opportunity.’ "

In the years since, though, Kaling has proved she didn’t need an ambitious circle of friends to propel her own success.

The Sex Lives of College Girlscreator, who recently received her star on theHollywood Walk of Fame, appeared as the title role in the 2010s seriesThe Mindy Projectand also created the Netflix seriesNever Have I EverandRunning Point,

source: people.com