Though she's definitely worthy of many esteemed awards, Mindy Kaling has not won a Nobel Peace Prize. That didn't stop one confused man from congratulating her on the award at a recent party.
According to a just-published New York Times profile, the writer and actress, 35, was attending an afterparty for The New Yorker Festival on Oct. 11 when "a tipsy man in his 80s cornered her and showered her with compliments."
One such compliment: "Congratulations on your Nobel Prize!"
The man went on to praise her bravery and impressive recovery from Taliban gunshots. He had clearly mistaken Kaling for 17-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban only to recover and continue fighting for women's rights to education.
"Did he really think I'm Malala?" Kaling, who is of Indian descent, asked the NYT writer after the man had walked away. "And that if I were, I'd be at the Boom Boom Room? That's the best thing that's happened all night."
The Mindy Project star continued to take the mix-up lightly on Twitter when Today show co-host Willie Geist jokingly tweeted, "@MindyKaling, belated congrats on your Nobel Peace Prize! Well deserved, my friend. Fun NYT piece on Mindy explains."
Kaling replied, "@WillieGeist thanks Willie. Is it bad that my first reaction was 'YES!!! SHE IS 17!!!'?"
