Mindy Kaling doesn't think sitcoms are unable to tackle abortion. She just doesn't think it's right for her sitcom specifically right now, she told HuffPost Live on Friday.
Earlier this month, Kaling told Flare Magazine that she doesn't plan to feature the issue of abortion on her series "The Mindy Project" because "it would be demeaning to the topic to talk about it in a half-hour sitcom." Sites like Jezebel criticized her statements, which argued that classic sitcoms like "Maude" and "Roseanne" addressed the issue quite successfully.
HuffPost Women Senior Editor Emma Gray noted that absence of abortion narratives on women-centered television "is not reflective of the actual number of women who get abortions in real life -- approximately 1 in 3 by the age of 45 in the United States."
Kaling clarified her intention during a chat with HuffPost Live's Ricky Camilleri.
"When I made that comment, I think that I misspoke," Kaling said. "It was a Flare interview where I said I thought it would demean the issue of abortion to talk about it on a sitcom. What I should have said was 'my sitcom.'"
The star added that she doesn't want to say no to the potential for an abortion storyline, but doing so in the context of "The Mindy Project" might not be as natural of a progression as it might have been for past sitcoms that have addressed abortion.
It's also hard to make comedy about something like abortion, Kaling said, which poses another challenge.
"It doesn't strike me - and I don't think this is controversial - as the funniest of areas, and I run a comedy show," she said.
Kaling also spoke about the "double-edged sword" of being perceived as a speaker for women in entertainment. She cares deeply about women's issues, she said, but she also feels intense pressure because of her platform.
