Mindy Kaling inadvertently set off a fresh wave of speculation about her relationship with former co-star B.J. Novak this week with a playful social media post.
On Monday, Kaling acknowledged Novak’s 44th birthday on Instagram with a candid selfie showing the pair riding in a car together.
“Happy birthday, Uncle B!” she wrote in the caption. “We love you!”
As of Monday afternoon, the post had been liked by more than 125,000 Instagram users and had drawn a plethora of comments alluding to the longstanding rumor that Novak is secretly the father of Kaling’s daughter Katherine, 5, and son Spencer, 2.
“B actually stands for baby daddy,” one person wrote.
Added another: “You aren’t fooling anyone!!”
Others alluded to the discourse in a less-specific way.
“Love your commitment to whatever the hell kind of relationship this is,” one person wrote. “Always fun seeing the two of you together and happy.”
Kevin Mazur via Getty Images
Kaling and Novak met while filming the premiere season of “The Office” in 2004. The pair dated on and off until 2007, according to People, and have remained close friends since then.
They’ve also made countless red carpet appearances at events in Hollywood and elsewhere. Last month, they were photographed together at a Red Sox game at Fenway Park in Boston, not far from Novak’s hometown of Newton, Massachusetts.
Kaling has never publicly addressed the paternity of her children. Though she’s shrugged off the implication that Novak is the father, her comments on the matter could be read as slightly evasive.
“He’s the godparent to both my kids — and they have such a great relationship — and so far [the rumors haven’t] affected my happiness at all, it hasn’t affected my kids or B.J.,” she told Marie Claire last year. “If that’s what is going to be titillating to people, I’ll take it.”
Boston Globe via Getty Images
Fortunately, Kaling ― who once described her relationship with Novak as a “romantically charged camaraderie with loud arguments” ― has maintained a sense of humor amid the scrutiny.
In a joint appearance at the 2022 Emmy Awards, the pair poked fun at the rumors while presenting the award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or Drama Special.
“To all the nominees, we just want to say: ‘Congratulations, you lazy sons of bitches,’” Kaling quipped. “We came up during network sitcoms ― 22 episodes a year!”
After Novak noted that the shooting schedule for a longer, more traditional series “would take up your whole life,” Kaling added, “You had no choice but to form insanely complicated relationships with your co-stars.”