There might be mitigating factors, but if The New Yorker ever needs a freelance fact checker, comedian Hasan Minhaj seems to really enjoy the job. Minhaj released a video via The Hollywood Reporter on October 26, responding to a September 15 New Yorker story by Clare Malone alleging that the stand-up fabricated stories in his specials Homecoming King and The King’s Jester, which Minhaj defended at the time by arguing that the stories were based on “emotional truth.†Minhaj’s new 20-minute-long video features recordings of his interview with Malone and screenshots of old texts and emails laid out in what he calls “the most Hasan Minhaj way possible: a 20-minute deep dive with graphics and excessive hand motions.†Specifically, he takes on three of the (at least partially) fabricated stories: the prom date who he says turned him down because of his race, the FBI informant who infiltrated his mosque growing up, and that time he got a letter with fake anthrax and it fell on his daughter.
Minhaj acknowledges that these weren’t completely true but defends the choice to make them into stories with larger emotional impact, arguing that there is a difference between what he did on his show Patriot Act and the more autobiographical approach to his stand-up. “I thought I had two different expectations built into my work: my work as a storytelling comedian and my work as a political comedian, where facts always come first,†he says. “That is why the fact-checking on Patriot Act was extremely rigorous … But in my work as a storytelling comedian, I assumed the lines between truth and fiction were allowed to be a bit more blurry.â€
If it seems like Minhaj is particularly smarting from this article, it might be because it may have cost him his position as host of The Daily Show. On September 27, Variety reported that, despite Minhaj previously being the front-runner for the job, Comedy Central had decided to “broaden the search†following the New Yorker story. The Daily Show is currently cycling through a series of guest hosts, with Desus Nice hosting from October 23 to 27.
The New Yorker initially released a statement to THR noting that its September piece was “carefully reported and fact-checked, and includes Hasan Minhaj’s perspective at length. We can’t comment on the specifics of his claims having not seen the video.â€Â Following the release of the video, the publication sent Vulture the below statement:
Hasan Minhaj confirms in this video that he selectively presents information and embellishes to make a point: exactly what we reported. Our piece, which includes Minhaj’s perspective at length, was carefully reported and fact-checked. It is based on interviews with more than twenty people, including former Patriot Act and Daily Show staffers; members of Minhaj’s security team; and people who have been the subject of his standup work, including the former F.B.I. informant “Brother Eric†and the woman at the center of his prom-rejection story. We stand by our story.
Minhaj, meanwhile, wants everyone to know one thing: “To everyone who read that article, I want to answer the biggest question that’s probably on your mind: Is Hasan Minhaj secretly a psycho?†he says in the video, later adding, “The guy in this article is a proper fucking psycho, but I now hope you feel like the real me is not. I’m just a guy with IBS and low sperm motility.â€
This post has been updated with a statement from the New Yorker.