Mindy Kaling Delivers Funny Commencement Speech At Harvard Law [Video]

No one has ever accused comedy writer and television star Mindy Kaling of not being real. As far as writing awkward, self-deprecating characters, Kaling is consistently churning out fantastically hilarious and oftentimes embarrassingly relatable material for the millennial generation.

Even considering that, it was a bit of a surprise to hear that the star of The Mindy Project was set to dole out the obligatory commencement speech to the young graduates at Harvard Law School. Although the actress crew up in Boston, she’s not exactly the first person to come to mind when one thinks of the air of prestige that must circulate through the vents at Harvard Law School.

That said, Kaling gave a memorable speech to the graduates, because she was exactly what she is, which is hilariously candid. As if she had a crystal ball in her hand, Mindy addressed the Harvard-educated lawyers to be, and predicted futures as they go out into the professional world. Some of those lawyers would even go on to self-serve her in life, she said.

“…[W]ith this diploma in hand, most of you will go on to the noblest of pursuits, like helping a cable company acquire a telecom company. You will defend BP from birds. You will spend hours arguing that the well water was contaminated well before the fracking occurred. One of you will sort out the details of my prenup, a dozen of you will help me with my acrimonious divorce.”

The highlight of the speech came when Kaling decided to “call a spade a spade” by setting the truth straight about some of the possibly-superior graduates before her.

“I’m afraid a couple of you are probably evil, that’s just the odds. And to be honest it scares me, because you look like a bunch of tweens.”

Much like her comedy, Kaling nails the speech based on moments of levity, and tongue in cheek jokes that lead to promising nuggets of truth.

“You can do whatever you want now and this institution will follow you everywhere. If you kill someone, you are the Harvard Law murderer. If you’re caught in a lewd act in a public restroom, you’re the Harvard Law pervert, my friend.”

As for the last five minutes of her speech Mindy goes into a dead on spiel about how celebrities shouldn’t give advice to young minds that are just about to go out in the world, and in turn, actually gives some sound advice.

“Just please, try to be the kind of people that give advice to celebrities, not the other way around.”

Well played, Mindy Kaling.

The commencement is worth a look. Check it out below:

[Image via Fox]