Velma Is East Asian In Mindy Kaling's New Scooby-Doo Spinoff, And Racists Are Being Crybabies About It
Rejoice, '60s cartoon enthusiasts, mystery lovers, and everyone who cites Linda Cardellini in 2002's Scooby-Doo as a key element of their sexual awakening - Velma is officially back and headlining a brand new raunchy, spin-off series for HBO Max. The brainchild of actress and producer Mindy Kaling of The Office and her eponymous Hulu comedy, The Mindy Project, the show is set to be a significant departure from series past, leaving behind the Mystery Machine and even Scoob himself for a brand new take on the classic franchise.
“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," Tom Ascheim, Director of Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics, explained of the upcoming project at the TV Summer Kids Festival on Thursday. "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.”
Don't Miss
As fans rejoiced to learn about the return of their favorite character …
… heralded the new show …
… and crossed their fingers for Velma to reach her full potential, embracing her longtime status a LGBTQAI+ icon among fans …
… another eye-roll inducing debate emerged from the bowels of the Twitterverse – users throwing a melodramatic tantrum over the fact that the character would not be white. Ugh.
Despite this bizarre public outcry, fans claiming the show has nothing to do with the Scooby-Doo franchise and generally being shitty …
… it seems there are a few factors fans have failed to take into consideration – namely, that Velma being white has never made a notable impact on the character.
“Scooby Doo has been around since 1969 with multiple iterations and different takes,” wrote self-described aspiring filmmaker, @Wierd_o78033920. “At this point it really shouldn’t fucking matter how they approach an adult oriented spin-off show about Velma. Just make it good. It’s not like her race was essential to her character anyway.”
Meanwhile, user @rheeor1 laid it out in a simple list. “Important parts of Velma's character: nerd orange sweater ‘jinkies,’” they mused. “Unimportant parts of Velma's character: white.”
Furthermore, it seems some critics have conveniently forgotten the oh-so-important canonical precedent, that Velma has been portrayed by women of color on numerous occasions over the past several years. In the early 2010s, actress and dream-pop icon, Hayley Kiyoko, portrayed the beloved brainiac in both Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins and its sequel, Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster while last year, Jane The Virgin's Gina Rodriguez voiced the character in the fever-dream that was Scoob!
So folks, please chill the f%*# out and leave Velma be. She already can't find her glasses, the last thing she needs is to have to fight off crybabies on Twitter.
For more internet nonsense, follow Carly on Instagram @HuntressThompson_ on TikTok as @HuntressThompson_, and on Twitter @TennesAnyone.
