In The Latest Entertainment News Of HBO Max’s Velma And Jinkies
Mindy Kaling’s “Velma” on HBO Max has been off to a rough start two weeks after its debut. Outside of Rotten Tomatoes grading the show a 42% contingent of 33 reviews and an audience score of 10, 000 viewers might not be that great, considering.
Some viewers took to Twitter to voice their disinterest in a joke told during the show’s first episode about sickle cell anemia.
“Velma,” voiced by The 40-Year-Old Virgin alum Kaling, stars in the adult-themed animated series telling how the Scooby-Doo gang originated. After she gets an excuse from her future co-worker, Fred Jones, for not remembering her name, Velma Dinkle replies,
“I have a disease where I can’t recognize people who aren’t hot,” he says. “My doctor says it’s basically sickle cell for rich people.”
Well, that joke didn’t turn over too well in the good old Twitterverse. One user said,
“This is weird and it didn’t even make sense. It was absolutely pointless. The joke was terrible. Makes me wonder whose idea it was to put it in the show.”
This is weird and it didn’t even make sense. It was absolutely pointless. The joke was terrible. Makes me wonder whose idea it was to put it in the show.
— Cell Mates Apparel (@ApparelCell) January 30, 2023
Another user added,
“I hate this so much and what makes it worse is Ii don’t even get the joke.”
I hate this so much and what makes it worse is I don’t even get the joke.
— Don Magezi (@don_magezi) January 30, 2023
Sickle Cell 101, a non-profit organization that helps others understand the disorder took to their Twitter account and asked,
Thoughts? Offensive? Bad joke?
Thoughts? Offensive? Bad joke? #sicklecell #Velma #HBOMax pic.twitter.com/tWTZHajoVb
— Sickle Cell 101 (@sicklecell101) January 29, 2023
The company lists sickle cell as “a group of inherited blood disorders that are caused by a mutation , or change in DNA,”
“Sickle cell disorders are genetic, meaning they are passed down from parents to their children… red blood cells are round and flexible and can travel easily through blood vessels. However, in those with sickle cell disease, each time red blood cells release oxygen to tissues and organs, they transform into a fragile, sticky, crescent (or sickle) shaped red blood cells called sickle cells. This transformation weakens sickle cells over time and they break down at a faster rate (called hemolysis), which results in anemia and other complications.”
One out of every 365 Black or African-Americans is affected by sickle cell anemia which results in severe pain and compromises one’s health, per the CDC.
While HBO and Kaling have yet to respond, according to The Wrap, the show’s data saw a 127 percent increase since its Jan. 12 premiere.
