Mindy Kaling is clapping back at Instagram commenters who took issue with the fact that she attended Aziz Ansari’s standup comedy performance in Los Angeles on Friday — and enjoyed it.
It all started when the former “Mindy Project” star issued an Instagram post, sharing a photo of her ticket to the show alongside a brief review.
“Funniest s**t ever,” she wrote.
Kaling’s post led to a barrage of criticism by commenters, who took her to task for supporting Ansari in the wake of a 2018 article in Babe that detailed the allegations of a woman he dated. In her interview, the woman claimed her date with the former “Parks and Recreation” star was “the worst night of my life,” alleging he coerced her into having sex with him.
RELATED: Aziz Ansari References Sexual Misconduct Allegations During New York Pop-Up Show
Kaling’s post was hit with a barrage of critical comments, a few of which she actually addressed.
Responding to one comment declaring it was “disappointing” to see Kaling “publicly endorse/rehab” Ansari, she wrote, “I think it would be more cowardly to be his friend and not come to his defense when people disparage him in public. Obviously I don’t love responding to Instagram comments late on a Friday night but I’m a feminist and standing up for women is very important to me. I’m not rehabbing him [because] I think he did a fine job doing it himself.”
She also took issue with another comment that insisted that it’s not possible to “separate the art from the artist. You believe the woman or you don’t.”
“I definitely don’t separate the art from the artist,” Kaling responded. “His experience has shaped his art and he talked about [it] eloquently.”
According to BuzzFeed, Another commenter took Kaling to task for repeatedly deleting her comments, and she finally responded and explained why.
“I think comparing Aziz to R. Kelly was offensive and degrading to the victims of R. Kelly,” she wrote, “so yeah, I deleted it.”
RELATED:Aziz Ansari Launches Comedy Tour, First Shows Since Sexual Misconduct Allegations
After a year-long hiatus in the wake of the allegations, Ansari is back on the road with his new “Road to Nowhere” comedy tour. Earlier this month, he performed at a “pop-up” show in NYC, where (as reported by Vulture) he addressed the scandal.
“There were times I felt really upset and humiliated and embarrassed, and ultimately I just felt terrible this person felt this way. But you know, after a year, how I feel about it is, I hope it was a step forward. It made me think about a lot, and I hope I’ve become a better person,” he said.
“If that has made not just me but other guys think about this, and just be more thoughtful and aware and willing to go that extra mile, and make sure someone else is comfortable in that moment, that’s a good thing,” he added. “And I think it also just gave me perspective on my life. There was a moment where I was scared that I’d never be able to do this again.”
