COMEDIAN HASIN MINHAJ UNDER FIRE FOR FABRICATING STORIES IN HIS ROUTINES THAT PORTRAYED HIM AS VICTIM OF RACISM

National Review

 

Comedian Hasan Minhaj Under Fire for Fabrications in Routines Portraying Himself as Victim of Racism

By ARI BLAFF

September 16, 2023 11:13 AM

 

Stand-up comedian Hasan Minhaj revealed that many elements of his routines portraying himself to be the victim of racism in America were fabricated.

 

A profile of Minhaj appearing in the New Yorker on Friday highlighted that the popular comedian and host of the Netflix show Patriot Act made up details of trademark bits such as a prom date dumping him based on his skin color. During another bit, Minhaj lied about rushing his daughter to the hospital after receiving an envelope he thought contained anthrax .

 

“Every story in my style is built around a seed of truth,” Minhaj told the outlet. “My comedy Arnold Palmer is 70% emotional truth — this happened — and then 30% hyperbole, exaggeration, fiction.”

 

On other occasions, Minhaj touted his ability to recognize FBI informants sent to surveil the Muslim community in the wake of 9/11 and claimed he confronted Jared Kushner at a Time 100 Gala for supposedly taking the seat of a Saudi dissident. “You have got to take the shots you are given in life, even if they’re built on a lie,” Minhaj told the New Yorker, defending his practice of fudging stories. “The emotional truth is first. The factual truth is secondary.”

 

“No, I don’t think I’m manipulating [the audience],” he added. “I think they are coming for the emotional roller-coaster ride. . . . To the people that are, like, ‘Yo, that is way too crazy to happen,’ I don’t care because yes, f**k yes — that’s the point.”

 

Following the story, Minhaj sought to downplay the admissions in several identical statements to media outlets in an attempt to quell mounting backlash. “All my standup stories are based on events that happened to me. Yes, I was rejected from going to prom because of my race. Yes, a letter with powder was sent to my apartment that almost harmed my daughter. Yes, I had an interaction with law enforcement during the war on terror. Yes, I had varicocele repair surgery so we could get pregnant. Yes, I roasted Jared Kushner to his face,” the comedian told Variety.

 

“I use the tools of standup comedy—hyperbole, changing names and locations, and compressing timelines to tell entertaining stories. That’s inherent to the art form.”

 

Still, many fans appear to be crestfallen by the revelations. “As someone who just spent $90 on a ticket to see Hasan Minhaj,” one former fan reacted, “to say I’m bummed is an understatement.”

 

 

In early August, the entertainment outlet Variety reported that Minhaj was one of three potential candidates to replace Trevor Noah on The Daily Show following his departure in December 2022.

 

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