Mindy Kaling had the most relatable response to winning a recent edition of “Who Wore It Best?”
In the December 2 issue of Us Weekly, Kaling, 45, out-fashioned Nicki Minaj in an Instagram poll that let our followers decide which star wore the same black-and-white Versace dress better.
Kaling, earned 61 percent of votes for her glamorous turn in the archival 2012 design at the Academy Museum Gala, where she was styled by Jenna Anne Filingeri, this past October. Meanwhile, Minaj, 42, had an edgier interpretation at the 2011 Billboard Women in Music Awards, but not enough to edge out Kaling.
Kaling also saw the results and had a highly relatable, predictably hilarious response to her unexpected win while visiting The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Tuesday, December 10.
@colbertlateshow #MindyKaling has nothing but love, fear and respect for Queen @Nicki Minaj — even when @Us Weekly gives her the title of “who wore it best.” They’re both winners in our book! #Colbert
“This is the first time [winning] ever!” she gushed to Colbert with visible glee but then shifted to a more diplomatic tone. “OK, so as a feminist, I don’t like pitting women against each other. As a vain person who’s competitive, I like to look better than other people. I have to balance these two.”
Kaling continued: “Before [I was] in the public eye, I would read these things. And then when I became slightly famous, I started going in… and they’re always putting me against, like, Bella Hadid, and they’re like, ‘Who wore it better: Mindy Kaling in the striped sweater or a supermodel in the same sweater?’ And it’s always the more traditionally good-looking person.”
She quickly reiterated: “But for the first time ever…” to which Colbert gave her props: “You smoked her.” Kaling added that she’d be more hyped if she’d won over anyone but the Pinkprint singer. “I can’t even enjoy it, because it’s Nicki Minaj, who I fear and respect,” she said.
But for the record: Minaj has long been a vocal supporter of women, like Kaling as well as herself, who aren’t afraid to mince words. “Stop feeling like you shouldn’t speak your mind ’cause somebody’s going to call you a bitch,” she said in 2015. “Speak your motherf–ing mind.”
Kaling hasn’t shied away from the fact that it takes work to consistently look so chic on the red carpet. “I don’t understand what’s so great about effortlessness,” she told Nylon in 2017. “I think showing up means you care. So, for me, I’m very effortful,” she said, while also giving props to Reese Witherspoon, who she refers to as a fellow effortful dresser. (“I never see Reese without perfect hair, perfect makeup.”)
It also isn’t the first time Kaling has spoken up when she finds herself in a fashion face-off, which for her, has included multiple twinning moments with Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales.
Back in 2014, Kaling shared a side-by-side split on Instagram of the two of them in the same L.K. Bennet floral frock. The accompanying caption read: “UHH, Miss Duchess Whoever, I WORE this dress last week! What’s next? Kate in my donut print pajama bottoms I mean c’mon.”
Even in less “highly scientific” situations than Us Weekly’s “Who Wore It Best?” (as the comedian sarcastically put it), she loves to see other celebrities who share her sense of style.
In 2022, designer Tory Burch posted an Instagram photo of Middleton, 52, wearing the brand’s floral frock in Belize, which prompted Kaling to comment: “I have this dress, and I screeched when I saw it on her.”
The next year, Kaling earned a spot on Us Weekly‘s 2023 list of breakout style stars. And something tells Us, this won’t be the last time she comes out on top in “Who Wore It Best?” either.
