The Shape of Water won Best Picture in one of the most tightly contested races in years; host Jimmy Kimmel successfully navigated the rough waters of Hollywood’s most scandalous year ever …
… but for fans of Dunder-Mifflin power couples, there was one stunning twist that trumped all the others.
Yes, Kelly and Ryan themselves – Mindy Kaling and BJ Novak hit the red carpet together last night.
Kaling’s choice of date for the Hollywood’s biggest night had fans talking for a number of reasons.
For one thing, there’s the obvious speculation that the on-again, off-again couple is dating once again “on.”
But there’s currently an even more intriguing rumor making its way across the social media landscape.
Kaling welcomed a daughter back in December, and she has yet to disclose the identity of the child’s father.
So we guess it’s not all that surprising that fans are now jumping to the conclusion that Novak is the baby daddy.
In fact, many are flat-out convinced that the Scranton branch’s third or fourth most popular couple has entered the parenting world together.
Rumors about the father of Kaling’s baby have been rampant for several months now, and Kaling has kept mum on the topic.
Unfortunately for her, this is one of those cases where fans believe her silence speaks volumes.
In the past, Kaling has never been shy about discussing the unusual complexities of her relationship with Novak.
“I will freely admit — my relationship with BJ Novak is weird as hell. He is not my boyfriend, but he is not my best friend,” Kaling revealed in a 2015 interview.
“I guess you could describe our relationship as a ‘romantically charged camaraderie with loud arguments,’ but I don’t think Facebook would accept this as a new status.”
In her 2015 memoir, Kaling left Office fans overjoyed when she revealed that she and Novak refer to one another as each other’s “soup snakes,” a reference to a season 7 episode in which Michael Scott intended to use the term “soul mates” and flubbed it as only he can.
“‘Soul mates’ is what you aim for, but soup snakes is what you get sometimes,” Kaling wrote.
Obviously, there’s still no clear indication that Novak is the father of her child, but these days, he certainly seems to be the leading candidate.
Whatever the case, these two went from hanging out by Oscar’s desk to hanging out at the Oscars, and we couldn’t be happier for them.
Admitting it was an “an unexpected surprise,” the star remained mum on the identity of the father and is yet to reveal his name.
She did sit down with NBC News a couple weeks later, however, and open up a bit more about the pregnancy and her future.
“It’s so unknown to me. I have a lot of control over a lot of aspects of my life, and this is one where I’m like, ‘OK, it’s out of my hands,’ which is kind of a fun feeling.”
She added at the time, in jest:
“It’s so easy to criticize parenting until you’re a parent, so one of the nice things about becoming a parent is that I’ll be able to openly criticize other parenting because I will have a child.”
And then, on a more serious note, she said:
“My mom was incredibly fierce and so devoted to us, just loved us and really wanted us to be happy no matter what we did.
“My career choice was not something that she was familiar with and she was just so supportive of that.
“And if I could give that to my child, just that open-mindedness, I’d be so happy.”
The public, meanwhile, remains fascinated by whose sperm fertilized Kaling’s egg.
It’s just fairly unusual for a very successful, mainstream, respected actress such as this to be a single mother. (No judgment at all, Mindy! You do you!)
The two most bantered-about possibilities are:
1. BJ Novak, Kaling’s co-star on The Office and long-time friend who we think dated Kaling in the past and who has remained very close to her.
2. New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, who awesomely flirted with Kaling in March and who may be the next President of the United States.
Either way, or even if it’s some random dude, we’re so very happy for Kaling!
We’ve added her to the following list of celebrities:
Let the speculation end and the celebration begin:
Mindy Kaling is pregnant!
This news was broken a month ago, of course, but the actress herself had not officially confirmed the blessed development until right now.
Excerpts from a Sunday TODAY interview with Willie Geist, which will air on September 10, were made public this morning, with Kaling talking openly about her knocked-up state for the first time.
The 38-year old said she’s “really excited” to become a mom, adding:
“It’s so unknown to me. I have a lot of control over a lot of aspects of my life, and this is one where I’m like, ‘OK, it’s out of my hands,’ which is kind of a fun feeling.”
Kaling does not have a steady or serious boyfriend.
She has not revealed the identity of her baby’s father, although the Internet is filled with questions and curiosity.
Could it actually be Cory Booker, the New Jersey Senator who asked Kaling out for a date in March and who is a legitimate contender for the Presidency in 2020?
Kaling isn’t saying a word.
When Geist asked if she knows what kind of parent she’ll be, the comic star responded in funny Kaling fashion.
“It’s so easy to criticize parenting until you’re a parent, so one of the nice things about becoming a parent is that I’ll be able to openly criticize other parenting because I will have a child,” she joked.
On a far more serious note, the former Office actress said her late mother, Swati Roysircar, set an incredible example.
She can only hope to follow it.
“My mom was incredibly fierce and so devoted to us, just loved us and really wanted us to be happy no matter what we did,” Kaling said.
“My career choice was not something that she was familiar with and she was just so supportive of that. And if I could give that to my child, just that open-mindedness, I’d be so happy.”
Back in 2015, Kaling spoke to Yahoo! Style about someday having kids.
She seemed extremely relaxed about the possibility, while also being very open to it.
“I think I’ve decided that unlike everything else in my life, I’m going to be fast and loose about kids,” she said, seemingly not kidding around and adding:
“I’m going to not actively plan, but if it happens, it would happen. I’m not cavalier about who I would have a kid with.
“But the thing I ask every parent that I really admire, the one comment they all have is that they wish they had kids earlier.”
But the comedic actress may soon be projectile vomiting each and every morning; not because she’s hungover… but because she’s pregnant!
Indeed, the celebrity gossip world was thrown for a stunning loop this week when sources confirmed that Kaling is pregnant with her first child.
It’s not that Kaling is young (she’s 38) nor that Kaling has ever made a secret out of wanting kids (she’s been open about her desire to be a mother).
It’s that Kaling is single. And the identity of her baby daddy is unknown at this time.
We’re not passing any judgment.
We’re just noting that this is an unusual circumstance for a celebrity who isn’t famous just for starring on an MTV reality show or posing often on Instagram in her underwear.
“She is not telling anyone, not even close friends, who the father is,” a source tells People Magazine of Kaling, adding that she isn’t dating anyone seriously at the moment.
According to an insider who spoke to E! News about the pregnancy, it came as “an unexpected surprise” for Kaling, who is next schedule to star in the films A Wrinkle in Time and Ocean’s Eight.
In other words: she’ll be in the news a lot for professional reasons over the next several months.
She’ll likely be making quite a few rounds on press tours for these highly-anticipated movies.
The subject of her pregnancy and whose sperm was used to fertilize her egg is bound to come up.
Why not announce his name now? Perhaps, some are speculating, because the father is none other than Cory Booker.
A Senator from New Jersey, Booker has hinted that he may run for President in 2020.
What if this led to a baby? What if Kaling wants to keep the baby? And what if Booker isn’t sure how to handle the situation, given his political ambitions, and this is why the stars are yet to confirm the news together?
We’re just asking.
Kaling has made it clear over the years that she wants children.
Speaking to Yahoo! Style in 2015, she even said the following:
“I think I’ve decided that unlike everything else in my life, I’m going to be fast and loose about kids.”
We’re not sure if she was being sarcastic, but Kaling added at the time:
“I’m going to not actively plan, but if it happens, it would happen.”
So… Kaling hasn’t worried about birth control over the past two years, it sounds like.
She’s sort of been planning to get pregnant, even without specifically planning with whom and at what time.
Whatever works for her and her mystery man, we guess, right? Here’s to a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby!
Major political news has taken the nation by storm.
The Republican Party was forced to pull the plug on the American Health Care Act Friday after lacking enough votes to clear the House floor, forcing Paul Ryan and Donald Trump to admit that Obamacare will remain the law of the land.
What? Huh? No.
Well… yes. That happened. But it’s not the major political story we’re tracking here at The Hollywood Gossip.
In a far more important breaking development, United States Senator Cory Booker has asked comedic actress Mindy Kaling out on a date!
It all started when the New Jersey native playfully chided Kaling’s alter ego – Dr. Mindy Lahiri on Hulu’s The Mindy Project – for poking fun at his hometown of Newark on her series.
“I guess anything to get out of Newark, huh?” the character joked in a recent episode about Booker’s attendance at a party.
In response, the outspoken and good-humored politician quoted the scene on Twitter and wrote “Ouch!”
He also linked to a Vogue article that referenced an infusion of new restaurants in the area that offer “a fusion of American comfort food with an Indian twist.”
As you can see below, Booker wasn’t too angry over the snub, writing that he still loves Kaling.
Kaling, who portrays an obstetrician on the sitcom and who rose to fame on The Office, took note of Booker’s flirtation and responded as follows:
“Senator, if Mindy Lahiri shades it, it means we know it’s cool. Thanks for the [love]. It’s mutual!”
From there, BOOKER ASKED KALING OUT ON A DATE!
“You are making my day!” gushed the 47-year old single senator, adding:
“Thanks for the clarification. And If the [love] is really mutual… Come have dinner with me in Newark?”
Clearly smitten, Kaling said yes, saying she had to go find the “train schedule” so she could make her way from New York City to New Jersey.
Adding to the incredibleness of this entire exchange, the official Twitter account for the train that takes folks from The Big Apple to its neighboring state (known as the PATH train) proceeded to get involved:
“PATH train is awesome when you are Jersey bound,” Booker Tweeted to Kaling. “But you are @Lyft worthy! I will send one to you for the door to door.”
There’s nothing about this story that isn’t completely awesome and amazing.
Tragically, we’re left hanging at the moment because Kaling has not responded to Booker’s Lyft offer.
But she has to accept, right?
Booker is considered a strong candidate to run for President in 2020.
And with Donald Trump’s approval ratings at historically low levels, you would think the Democratic nominee ought to have a real shot at winning the White House in a few years.
This means there’s a chance that Mindy Kaling could be First Lady.
A good chance? Probably not.
But there really is a chance.
And that’s a lot more than we could have said about the situation just a few hours ago.
Mindy Kaling‘s new book, Why Not Me?, hit shelves yesterday and has already given us a few AH-Mazing highlights!
In Kaling’s second book she has quite a bit to talk about including some of her fears as well as getting drunk at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
But probably two of the most interesting tidbits she reveals in the book are what she learned from Kim Kardashian West and why actors who say they hate sex scenes secretly love them!
The Mindy Project star revealed that:
“The most valuable thing I learned from Kim Kardashian is that your arm must never lie flat against your body. I remember hearing her say that when you put your hand on your hip, it makes your arm look thinner and draws attention to your waist. I tried it and I loved it! So I started doing it whenever I was getting my picture taken.”
As for those steamy on camera sex scenes, Mindy isn’t buying it when actors talk about how awkward they are and that they hate filming them! She says:
“There must be lots of other actors who love doing sex scenes too, right? Wrong. If you interview any actor about having to do sex scenes, you always get the same answer: they ‘hate’ doing them. I am here to tell you they are all lying. Every last one of ’em. Obviously on-screen sex is not actual penetrative sex, but as any religious high schooler will tell you, simulating sex can be pretty damn enjoyable as well.”
This isn’t too surprising as Mindy’s character has dated QUITE a few studs including James Franco, Tim Daly, and her Office co-star B.J. Novak! Speaking of studmuffins, the actress has an AH-Mazing anecdote about drunkenly meeting Bradley Cooper at the Correspondents dinner in Washington D.C. She remembers:
“I saw John Kerry talking to Bradley Cooper. I’m from Massachusetts and I’m friends with Ed Helms, so I figured I had hit the conversational jackpot with these two. I was drunk and feeling a little important, so I wandered over and interrupted them. ‘Hi! I’m Mindy Kaling. I’m from Massachusetts. Ed Helms was in The Hangover and was also on my old show, The Office,’ I said cockily…’Yes,’ Bradley responded. ‘I know Ed.’ I would give our interaction a solid B-minus.”
LOLz!
She’s never afraid to speak her mind which pretty much sums up exactly why we love her!
Definitely check out her new book Why Not Me? and don’t miss The Mindy Project‘s fourth season which is currently airing on Tuesdays on HULU!
