Mindy Kaling’s Velma Will Be Asian and White People Are NOT Okay
Ascheim said, “We have a not for children, Mindy Kaling project called Velma because she was excited to reimagine what Scooby-Doo would be like if Velma were of East Asian descent and lived in a different world. And in that version, which is going on HBO Max first, there’s no dog and no van but we have our 4 key characters through a different lens and I think it’s great. Allowing our creators to play with our IP is super powerful.”
Naturally, news of the historically white Velma being East Asian rankled a certain racist subset of internet trolls who lose their damn minds every time a white cartoon character becomes a person of color. We saw it in the racist backlash against singer-actress Halle Bailey when she was cast in Disney’s upcoming live-action The Little Mermaid. And we saw it when Zendaya was cast as Mary Jane in the Spider-Man films.
Ascheim said, “We have a not for children, Mindy Kaling project called Velma because she was excited to reimagine what Scooby-Doo would be like if Velma were of East Asian descent and lived in a different world. And in that version, which is going on HBO Max first, there’s no dog and no van but we have our 4 key characters through a different lens and I think it’s great. Allowing our creators to play with our IP is super powerful.”
Naturally, news of the historically white Velma being East Asian rankled a certain racist subset of internet trolls who lose their damn minds every time a white cartoon character becomes a person of color. We saw it in the racist backlash against singer-actress Halle Bailey when she was cast in Disney’s upcoming live-action The Little Mermaid. And we saw it when Zendaya was cast as Mary Jane in the Spider-Man films.
