Comedian Hasan Minhaj was accused in a recent New Yorker magazine story of fabricating or exaggerating the personal stories he tells in his stand-up routine. The article suggested that he was not truthful in his accounts of his life experiences, particularly those related to his experiences as a Muslim American and an Asian American. In response to this article, Hasan Minhaj, The Daily Show alum, released a detailed 21-minute video countering the allegations.
The article in The New Yorker implied that Hasan Minhaj may have stretched the truth when sharing his personal encounters with racism, Islamophobia, and political challenges.
Watch the video here:
In response to The New Yorker's claims, Hasan Minhaj offers additional details on three stories from his stand-up routine that came under scrutiny. These stories involve his experience of being rejected for a prom date due to racism, encounters with undercover law enforcement monitoring the Muslim community in his hometown, and a personal incident involving an anthrax scare at his residence.
In the beginning of the video, he said he understands if fans are asking, "Is Hasan Minhaj just a con artist who uses fake racism and Islamophobia to advance his career? Because after reading that article, I would also think that."
"I just want to say to anyone who felt betrayed or hurt by my stand-up, I am sorry. I made artistic choices to express myself and drive home larger issues affecting me and my community, and I feel horrible that I let people down."
"And the reason I feel horrible is because I'm not a psycho," he added. "But this New Yorker article definitely made me look like one." He said the article was "needlessly misleading, not just about my standup but also about me as a person. The truth is, racism, FBI surveillance, and the threats to my family happened."
"So I'm going to do the most Hasan Minhaj thing ever: I'm going to do a deep dive on my own scandal, with graphics, because there is so much evidence I gave the New Yorker that they ignored that I want to show you," he continued.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, in Minhaj's Netflix special Homecoming King, he tells a story of asking a white girl (whom he gives the pseudonym "Bethany Reed") to prom, only to show up at her house and be told by her mother that Bethany won't go with him because her family doesn't want their daughter in pictures with "a brown boy."
"Bethany's mom really did say that-it was just a few days before prom," he said in the video. "I created the doorstep scene to drop the audience into the feeling of that moment, which I told the reporter."
In the video, Hasan Minhaj plays an audio clip of a portion of his conversation with writer Clare Malone, where they discuss the particular scene in question.
Additionally, the video presents emails and text messages exchanged between Minhaj and Bethany, demonstrating that he provided this evidence to the magazine. These messages show Bethany expressing gratitude to Minhaj for his efforts in protecting her and her family.
