As celebrity host of the third night of the Democratic National Convention, Mindy Kaling took the stage to support the presidential campaign of Kamala Harris, who she said she calls a friend.
After joking that she was “the woman who courageously outed Kamala Harris as Indian in an Instagram cooking video,” Kaling shared her observations from one of the first times she met the vice president:
“She wasn’t Madam Vice President then — she was my senator, and we were filming a video where she came to my home to cook dosas, a South Indian dish,” Kaling recalled. “It’s not every day that a senator comes over, and I was pretty nervous, but when she arrived, we immediately hit it off. We talked about the love we have for our moms, who had both passed away from cancer. Both of our mothers were immigrants from India who came to America and committed their lives to serving others.”
Kaling explained that while her mother became an OGBYN, Harris’ mother, Shyamala, was a scientist who searched for a cure for cancer: “It was clear to me that Shyamala had passed down the same optimism and fearlessness to her daughter,” she said.
“But the thing I remember the most about the Vice President is that Kamala Harris can cook, guys,” Kaling said, laughing, before pointing out Harris’ thoughtfulness towards Kaling’s children.
“She was so much better than me, but she also knew that my family was watching. So as she gently corrected my sloppy dosa making, she was complimenting me every step of the way, making sure that my daughter, Kit, heard how good of a cook I am. She had no desire to be seen as better than anyone else. She just wanted my kid to be impressed with her mom.”
Harris only managed to take one bite of the dosa, Kaling said, “but it is that warmth, that generosity of spirit that I know she will bring to the White House as our next president. Kamala Harris cares deeply about other people. She will fight to protect our freedoms, because those are the values that her mother passed down to her.”
Kaling closed her address with a call to action, reminding viewers that Harris’ name isn’t the only one on the ballot this November.
“In order to protect those freedoms, Democrats also need to win the house, so we have a lot to do,” she said before welcoming to the stage the U.S. house minority leader, congressman Hakeem Jeffries, who she cheekily referred to as “your next Speaker of the House.”
Retaking the stage later on in the evening after a speech from former President Bill Clinton, Kaling got laughs for referencing recent celebrity news.
“I couldn’t leave here without giving a shout out to the amazing delegation from my home state, Massachusetts. I love you, Massachusetts!” she began.
“Everyone is always hating on us, but they just don’t get it. Go Sox. Go Jayson Tatum. Ben Affleck, hang in there!” she said. Jennifer Lopez’s filed for divorce from the actor on Tuesday.
“Dunkin Donuts is the best coffee in the world,” she concluded, as Affleck is often photographed holding cups from the fast food cafe.
