Mindy Kaling is a 35-year-old Indian-American writer and creator of the hit show "The Mindy Project." Malala Yousafzai is a 17-year-old Pakastani activist who just won a Nobel Peace Prize for championing girls’ education. They’re not the same person. But the New York Times unearthed an embarassing episode from this month’s New Yorker Festival:

As she stood by the banquettes, a tipsy man in his 80s cornered her and showered her with compliments, apparently mistaking her for Malala Yousafzai. "Congratulations on your Nobel Prize," he said, before expressing wonder at how well she had recovered from Taliban gunshots.

Ms. Kaling was speechless. "Did he really think I’m Malala?" she said when he was safely out of sight. "And that if I were, I’d be at the Boom Boom Room?"

Still, she thought it was pretty funny: "That’s the best thing that’s happened all night."

But, you know, this sorta thing happens all the time. Casual racism — guess there’s not much to do but laugh it off, right?

(h/t Vox)