In response to allegations made in a recent New Yorker article, the Indian American comedian says he wanted to recreate for a wider audience the feeling that only Muslims experienced—paranoia and vindication, tension and release.
Hasan Minhaj has spoken out in response to the New Yorker exposé, which claimed that some of the ostensibly autobiographical stories he used in his routines were embellished. Now, the comedian, actor, writer, and producer has released a video in which he tries to answer the most pressing question raised since the article’s publication on September 15: “Is Hasan Minhaj a fake artist who used racism and Islamaphobia to advance his career?”
In the 21-minute video, which is adorned with graphics, he provides a detailed explanation. “A number of people have asked me to provide my perspective on what is going on.” “I paused before responding because, like you, I have been paralyzed by the news coming out of the Middle East, and I have been processing all the criticism that has come my way,” he explains. “Being accused of ‘faking racism’ is not trivial,” he continues, adding, “it is very serious, and an explanation is required.”
“I made artistic choices to express myself and drive home larger issues affecting me and my community,” he says, apologizing to “anyone who felt betrayed or hurt by my stand-up.”
He accuses the New Yorker article of portraying him as a “psycho,” which he denies. “It was so needlessly deceptive, not just about my stand-up, but about me as a person,” he continues. “The truth is that there was racism, FBI surveillance, and threats against my family.” “I said it on the record.” In the video, he also apologizes for mixing fact and fiction in both instances, but claims that his stand-up work, as opposed to his time on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show or Netflix’s Patriot Act, allows for more artistic license.
He addresses specific parts of his routines that The New Yorker described as false in the video, including several anecdotes from his standup routines in which he frequently shared harrowing experiences he has faced as a South Asian American and a Muslim American.
“I thought I would built two different expectations into my work: storytelling comedy and political comedy, where facts always come first,” he says. “That is why the Patriot Act’s fact-checking was so thorough.” My congressional testimony was meticulously fact-checked. “I wanted to recreate that feeling — that only Muslims felt — for a wider audience, that feeling of paranoia and vindication, tension and release,” I explained in my work as a storytelling comedian.
Although the guy described in the New Yorker article is “a proper f______g psycho,” Minhaj hopes that people “feel like the real me is not,” he concludes. “I am just a guy with IBS and poor sperm motility.” Again, there is a lot more important news in the world right now that needs your attention. So, thank you for watching; I have made a note of it, and I hope to see you at the next show.”
