Actress Mindy Kaling took to the stage on the third night of the Democratic National Convention and spoke highly about Vice President Kamala Harris, saying they became friends sometime back when Harris was a senator.
She joked about how she was “the woman who courageously outed Kamala Harris as Indian in an Instagram cooking video.”
”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. 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 said while her mother was an obgyn, Harris’ mother was a scientist who was searching for a cure for cancer and she believed that she had passed down the same optimism to her daughter.
Kaling recalled about Kamala Harris’ cooking:
“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.”
Kaling added that what really impressed her was Harris’ warmth and generosity of spirit even during that simple activity. She felt Harris would bring the same spirit to the White House as the 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 also reminded viewers that Harris’ name is not 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 then welcomed on stage the US House minority leader, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries. She ended her speech with a shout-out to delegates from her home state, Massachusetts, and also briefly mentioned Ben Affleck (who is currently going through a divorce from Jennifer Lopez).
”Everyone is always hating on us, but they just don’t get it. Go Sox. Go Jayson Tatum. Ben Affleck, hang in there! Dunkin’ Donuts is the best coffee in the world.”