
Her skin tone looks different from her 'Office' days to 'The Mindy Project.'
By Molly Given — Written on May 02, 2018
Photo: Instagram

Mindy Kaling is a beloved actress, writer, and comedian with two huge hits under her belt: The Office (in which she played ditzy Kelly Kapoor) and The Mindy Project (in which she played OB-GYN Mindy Lahiri.) She's also the only woman of color to write, create and star in a prime-time sitcom on a major network. She's also a new mom to daughter, Katherine, one-third star of the new Oprah-produced movie A Wrinkle In Time, executive producer of the new NBC show Champions, and possibly rekindling a romance with on and off-again boyfriend B.J. Novak. Needless to say, she's got a lot on her plate.
RELATED: Mindy Kaling Is Pregnant, But Who's The Dad? We Investigate
But with the rise of her star, there's also been speculation. (Oh, fame: it's a double-sided sword.) Internet fans have noticed a difference in Kaling's skin tone from her days on The Office to her more current look, prompting the question: Does Mindy Kaling bleach her skin? But first a comparison:
A post shared by Kelly kapoor (@kellykapooreveryday) on Mar 17, 2018 at 9:34pm PDT
A post shared by Kelly Kapoor (@kelly.kapoor909) on Nov 9, 2017 at 5:25pm PST
A post shared by Kelly Kapoor (@kelly.kapoor909) on Nov 9, 2017 at 5:24pm PST
Current day photos of Kaling:
A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@mindy_kaling) on May 19, 2013 at 10:33pm PDT
A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@themindyland) on Apr 30, 2018 at 3:03pm PDT
A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) on Apr 20, 2018 at 7:42am PDT
Obviously, Kaling looks stunning in all the photos but there does seem to be a difference in her skin shade over the past few years. And it could just be lighting, Photoshop, or makeup. But some fans out there are firm in their belief that Kaling is lightening her skin. She wouldn't be the first dark-skinned star to be accused of skin lightening, either — other celebs like Blac Chyna, Lil Kim, and Michael Jackson all had skin bleaching rumors swirling around them, too.
RELATED: New Details About The Snapchat Video That Has Fans Thinking Blac Chyna Bleached Her Skin
On her end, Kaling hasn't commented on the issue except for this hilarious response to a meme that was circulating comparing a before/after photo of her. The meme was meant to poke fun at the difference between someone looking their worst and someone looking their best, but Mindy was quick to humorously point out she couldn't see the difference between the two photos, basically slamming anyone who saw the 'before' photo as a negative.
I don’t get this, I’m equally pretty in both https://t.co/JBZIEnrfTu
— Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) April 6, 2018
if you then
don't you dont
love me deserve me
at my at my pic.twitter.com/uxSfuH3Bx2— Ishita Yadav (@IshitaYadav) April 6, 2018
Related Stories From YourTango:
People loved Kaling's response and praised her for loving every version of herself. That's the sort of feminist energy Kaling's always been known for and it's the reason we continue to look up this beautiful and funny gal. Rock on, Mindy.
Molly Given is a writer living in Philadelphia and lover of all things to do with mystery and magic in life. When she’s not writing her fingers off she can be found planning her next adventure in a new part of the world.