Feature Image Courtesy: Variety
Hasan Minhaj, the Indian American comedian, and emotional truth-teller has been excoriated by his fellow comedians. Minhaj is a first-generation Indian-American who is quite famous for finding humor in various topics, including cultural identity, the immigrant experience, and the challenges he has faced in the entertainment industry. However, an article in the New Yorker which was published titled Hasan Minhaj’s “Emotional Truths”, has revealed that Minhaj had systematically made up stories of racial harassment to peddle false narratives of victimization in an already woke environment.
The article in the New Yorker talks about how Minhaj had, on multiple occasions, fabricated harrowing experiences as an Asian/Muslim living in America.
The news magazine conducted thorough research and gathered insights from those directly involved, revealing that a significant portion of the stories attributed to Hasan Minhaj were, in fact, fabricated. These stories included the well-known ‘Anthrax scare’ involving his daughter, his prom night saga, and his claimed encounter with Saudis on the day of Jamal Khashoggi’s death in the Saudi Embassy. It became evident that these tales of victimization were not based on reality. Surprisingly, Minhaj himself admitted to manipulating or distorting these stories when confronted by a journalist from The New Yorker regarding their authenticity.
Furthermore, recent podcast clips have emerged, in which American comedians, including Andrew Schulz and Akaash Singh, disclosed that Hasan Minhaj had also deceived them in personal conversations. This deception was driven by his desire to advance a particular political agenda and present himself as a heroic figure by peddling false narratives of victimization.
In a podcast hosted by comic Andrew Schulz who recently made fun of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a swipe at Minhaj for defending his fabricated stories and claiming that they had 70% emotional truth. To which Schulz asked how we even know Hasan Minhaj is ‘Minhaj’ adding that he thinks that Hasan Minhaj’s name is 70% emotionally true referring to what Hasan Minhaj said about his work.
Schulz who is a keen observer of human behavior and the current politically correct dispensation comedy is headed said, “It is not that in his stories, he (Minhaj) was using these exaggerations or hyperboles as punch lines, he was using them to kind of make the audience feel worse about him and then it turns out that these things didn’t actually happen.”
Schulz went on quip that Hasan Minhaj might have fabricated elements in his Netflix specials. According to the report, Minhaj was deceiving his audience by presenting these fabricated stories as if they were his genuine personal experiences, all under the guise of his “emotional truth.” Schulz humorously suggested that Minhaj might as well claim experiences like being in a boat with a tiger (from the movie “Life of Pi”) and earning money in a manner akin to “Slumdog Millionaire” as his own.
However, Schulz also agreed that as a comedian he had also exaggerated at times to make the joke better, He said, “It is not that in his stories, he (Minhaj) was using these exaggerations or hyperboles as punch lines, he was using them to kind of make the audience feel worse about him and then it turns out that these things didn’t actually happen.”
Indian American comedian Akaash Singh pointed out that Minhaj had made life worse for other people in real life and gave the example of the prom night story which Minhaj had used repeatedly to claim that he faced racism for his Indian roots. Akaash said, “Basically the homecoming story is based on the story that he (Minhaj) was supposed to be prom with a white girl. Then he went to her door, where she was putting a corsage on another guy, a white guy because her parents didn’t like the fact that Hasan was Indian and that’s a terrible story.”
Minhaj’s story later was discovered as a farce after the girl whom he claimed had rejected him for the prom revealed that Minhaj had asked her a few days before the prom and she had said no to him. Since he had called her a racist and discriminated against Hasan Minhaj it has now turned out that the girl in question is now married to an Indian.
Andrew Schulz criticized Hasan Minhaj, stating, “I need to have that kind of confidence where, if you don’t like me, it must be because you’re a racist. The only objective reason for not liking me is if the other person has a problem – they are racist.”
Akaash chimed in, expressing disbelief, “Why claim that you went to the door when you didn’t? This is crazy. He told me this story a few years ago.”
In a more serious tone, Andrew asked Akaash if Hasan Minhaj had also told him this story in real life. Akaash confirmed that he had.
Akaash recounted the incident, saying, “I’m talking about 2012 when he and I were friends. I had no idea this was a lie. We were sitting at a diner, and he narrated this story as a traumatic experience. I believed it the whole time… we were just eating. Why did he have to lie to me?”
He continued, “I felt like telling him that his family probably said the same thing – that you two are not a good match, you’re from different countries, different races, different faiths. You don’t fit together.”
Andrew acknowledged that comedians often tweak or exaggerate parts of their stories for humor, even giving an example from his own experience. However, he emphasized that there’s a difference between doing so for humor and doing it to push a political agenda.
Akaash pointed out, “A little exaggeration is okay to make jokes funnier, but it’s not okay when you’re lying about victimization.”
Schulz added, “What Minhaj is doing isn’t comedy; he’s not lying about the funny parts.” He went on to highlight Minhaj’s stories about the Anthrax scare and his daughter, where he claimed someone sent a letter filled with “white powder” to his home.
The New Yorker’s investigation revealed that neither the New York Police Department, responsible for probing potential Bacillus anthracis (Anthrax) incidents, nor local hospitals had any record of an incident that matched Hasan Minhaj’s description. Interestingly, during his conversation with the New Yorker article’s author, Clare Malone, Minhaj admitted that his daughter had never been exposed to any “white powder” and had not been hospitalized.
Addressing Minhaj’s Anthrax and Daughter Story, Schulz questioned why he would write and believe something like that. In the podcast, Schulz also pointed out that Minhaj’s narrative of the White House Correspondence Dinner was filled with falsehoods.
Highlighting Minhaj’s fabrication in the Saudi meeting story, Schulz explained, “He (Minhaj) manipulated the timelines to make his experience seem more significant. He claimed to have had a meeting with Saudis to arrange an interview with Crown Prince MBS. After the meeting, everyone left, and later, they were alarmed because he said that on the same day, Jamal Khashoggi was dismembered at the Saudi embassy in Turkey.”
In response, Akaash noted that these lies were not meant for humor but to portray Minhaj as a hero and to advance a broader political agenda. He acknowledged that while some fabricated stories may not cause harm, they should not be used to push a political agenda. Akaash emphasized the gravity of Minhaj’s fabrications, particularly in the case of the woman in the prom night story, whose life became significantly more difficult, and her family received death threats.
(With inputs from OpIndia)