Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak Get Into Heated Exchange Over Yanny/Laurel Debate

The 'Mindy Project' alum threatens to end her friendship with her former 'The Office' co-star as they cannot agree on a word they hear on the audio recording.

May 17, 2018

AceShowbiz - Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak get into the viral Yanny/Laurel debate and it threatens their longtime friendship. The actress and her former "The Office" co-star had an intense argument after they listened to the audio recording and couldn't agree on a word they heard on it.

The recording, which was found and first brought into attention by YouTube star Cloe Feldman, sounds like a computerized voice reciting a word. It has caused a confusion among those partaking in the emerging digital challenge as some people heard "Yanny" and others heard "Laurel."

Trying to get an affirmation, Kaling texted Novak, "Yanny or Laurel?! I need to know." Novak replied, "Obviously Laurel. Just looked it up." Kaling apparently took this seriously as she wrote to Novak, "Hey. We've had a long friendship. You mean a lot to me. But if you don't hear Yanny, it's over."

But Novak won't budge. "Obviously Laurel … who hears Yanny?" the 38-year-old comedian/writer responded. Kaling texted back, "I DO."

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Kaling and Novak are not the only celebrities who have taken part in the viral challenge. Emmy Rossum tweeted, "I hear #yanny so clearly," before adding, "But if I listen closely I can hear a deep quiet ghost saying #laurel.... so there... anyone else hear both?"

"Good Morning America" anchor Robin Roberts (II) agreed with Kaling, saying, "Idk what they're talking about...I definitely hear #Yanny."

Even Chrissy Teigen, who recently gave birth to her second child, weighed in on the debate. "It's so clearly laurel. I can't even figure out how one would hear yanny," she tweeted, much to Kaling's dismay. The comedienne replied, "I bought your cookbook. I loved it. And now you betray me?"

According to Vox, "whether you hear 'Yanny' or 'Laurel' hinges on whether you're attending to lower or higher frequencies of sound. Delete the higher frequencies and 'Laurel' becomes more pronounced. Do the same with the lower frequencies and 'Yanny' emerges."