Hasan Minhaj Offers a Response to Allegations of Deceptive Storytelling in His Stand-Up Act Regarding Racist Encounter

Hasan Minhaj is standing firm in his defense of his stand-up routine amid allegations of fabricating stories from his past. In a video statement sent to The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday, October 26, Minhaj acknowledged the larger global issues at play but emphasized the seriousness of being accused of "faking racism." He addressed the article's main question head-on: "Is Hasan Minhaj secretly a psycho? Is he merely a con artist exploiting fake racism and Islamophobia to further his career?"

Earlier this year, an investigation by The New Yorker focused on Minhaj's comedy. Allegedly, a reporter discovered inaccuracies in several of Minhaj's claims, including a story from his first Netflix special, Homecoming King. In this story, Minhaj claimed that a white girl rejected his prom invitation due to race.

In a video released on Thursday, Minhaj apologized to anyone who felt betrayed or hurt by his stand-up. He acknowledged that he made artistic choices to express himself and highlight larger issues affecting him and his community. However, he expressed remorse for letting people down. He also criticized The New Yorker article for being needlessly misleading, not only about his stand-up but also about him as a person. Minhaj affirmed that incidents of racism, FBI surveillance, and threats to his family did occur, and he had previously gone on the record acknowledging them.

Minhaj then delved into a thorough examination of the evidence, asserting that he had indeed spoken the truth in part and highlighting the alleged disregard for these specific details by the New Yorker prior to publication. During his comedy special, Minhaj humorously noted that Bethany (using a pseudonym to protect her identity) was forbidden by her mother to attend the school dance with a "brown boy" on prom night, in order to prevent their family from seeing pictures of the two teenagers.

Minhaj clarified that Bethany's mom did indeed make that statement, just a few days prior to prom. He explained that he included the doorstep scene to immerse the audience in the emotion of that moment, as he had explained to the reporter. He then proceeded to play an audio recording of a conversation with the New Yorker reporter, which supported his version of events.

Minhaj also stated that his team made multiple attempts to present the New Yorker with additional evidence supporting his claims, which were supposedly left out of the final version of the article.

In addition, Minhaj addressed two other stories from his comedy routine that were questioned by the New Yorker. On Thursday, Minhaj acknowledged that he had exaggerated incidents involving harassment by law enforcement at his family's mosque and an incident where he took his daughter, whom he shares with his wife Beena Patel, along with their son, to a hospital for suspected anthrax exposure.

Minhaj acknowledged that he had two distinct expectations embedded in his work - one as a storytelling comedian and the other as a political comedian, prioritizing factual accuracy. He expressed remorse for exercising "artistic license" in his stand-up performances and emphasized the rigorous fact-checking process on his Netflix show, Patriot Act, as well as during his congressional testimony. However, Minhaj recognized that in his work as a storytelling comedian, he believed there was room for a more blurred line between truth and fiction.

He further explained that in this particular stand-up routine, emotional truth held more significance than factual truth. While acknowledging the negative portrayal of an individual in an article, Minhaj hoped that viewers would see the genuine side of him, depicted as someone dealing with IBS and low sperm motility. He urged viewers to focus on more pressing global news and thanked them for their attention, promising to heed their feedback and looking forward to their presence at future shows.

The New Yorker maintains that they stand by their story, and a spokesperson for the publication asserts that Hasan Minhaj's video confirms his selective presentation of information and embellishment for the purpose of making a point. In their statement, the New Yorker spokesperson emphasizes that their piece, which extensively includes Minhaj's perspective, was carefully researched, fact-checked, and based on interviews with over twenty individuals. These interviews included former Patriot Act and Daily Show staffers, members of Minhaj's security team, and individuals who have been the focus of his standup material, such as the former F.B.I. informant 'Brother Eric' and the woman involved in his prom-rejection story.

We has reached out to Minhaj for comment.