Hasan Minhaj says his stand-up stories are embellished but rooted in 'emotional truth.' Because that's comedy (2024)

Hasan Minhaj isn’t shy about stretching the truth to nail a joke.

Comedian and former “Patriot Act” host Minhaj told the New Yorker that the stories he tells in stand-up comedy are embellished but rooted in “emotional truth.”

“I use the tools of standup comedy — hyperbole, changing names and locations, and compressing timelines to tell entertaining stories. That’s inherent to the art form,” he said in a statement to The Times, responding to the article. “You wouldn’t go to a haunted house and say, ‘Why are these people lying to me?’ The point is the ride. Stand-up is the same.”

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In Minhaj’s 2022 Netflix special, “The King’s Jester,” he told a story about being handed “fan mail” by his building’s doorman. He opened one of the letters, he said, and “all this white powder falls into the stroller” he was pushing, and onto his daughter’s shoulder, neck and cheeks.

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In the special, he said, he panicked that the powder was anthrax, told his wife what had happened, and they raced to the emergency room. Hours later, a nurse arrived with his daughter — and an investigator who told him he was very lucky, because the powder was nothing. But the man wanted to know, who exactly had Minhaj been antagonizing?

Cue the laughter, because Minhaj’s answer was, “Everybody.”

Later, back at their house, his anecdote continued, his wife accused him of putting clout above their kids — yes, kids plural — she was informing him that she was pregnant (and allowing a callback to an earlier joke about their doctor).

“You get to say whatever you want onstage, and we have to live with the consequences. ... I don’t give a s— that Time magazine thinks you’re an ‘influencer.’ If you ever put my kids in danger again, I will leave you in a second,” Minhaj quoted his wife as saying.

He represented the situation as a reckoning, then continued the bit, saying, “I don’t want to be the Tupac of comedy. ... I’m trying to live to see these retweets. If anything, I want to be the Puffy of comedy. I want to live — while more talented people die around me.” Punch line delivered.

Minhaj told the New Yorker that, yes, a letter with white powder had been sent to his house in real life, and at the time he joked to his wife, “Holy s—. What if this was anthrax?” But he had embellished that his daughter came in contact with the powder, and said she wasn’t actually rushed to a hospital.

“Every story in my style is built around a seed of truth,” Minhaj said. “My comedy Arnold Palmer is 70% emotional truth — this happened — and then 30% hyperbole, exaggeration, fiction.”

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Stephen Rosenfield, founding director and teacher at American Comedy Institute and author of “Mastering Stand-Up,” detailed the art of transforming stories into comedy gold for Writer’s Digest.

“Funny stories that comedians perform in clubs are called anecdotal stand-up. These stories can be based on real-life experiences or they can be made up,” Rosenfield wrote.

“When regular storytellers tell a story, there may or may not be laughs along the way. Their story can succeed on the merits of its drama and suspense, with or without laughter,” he continued. “But any form of stand-up that a club comedian employs — including anecdotal stand-up — comes with the challenge and necessity of serving up frequent laughs. Hey, that’s why people go to comedy clubs — to laugh.”

In another anecdote Minhaj used for laughs in “The King’s Jester,” he told the story of an FBI informant who infiltrated his family’s mosque.

Brother Eric was a white man who claimed to be a convert to Islam, and Minhaj said Brother Eric attempted to coax the men at the mosque to talk about jihad. He joked that after telling Brother Eric he was pursuing his pilot’s license, the cops showed up and slammed him onto the hood of his car.

Minhaj also admitted that he took creative license with the factual components of the Brother Eric anecdote.

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Both stories were based in “emotional truth,” the comedian told the New Yorker, adding that the punch line was worth the fictionalized premise.

The Brother Eric story came from a personal experience from Minhaj’s youth. Minhaj and other teenage Muslims played games of pickup basketball with middle-aged men “whom the boys suspected were officers. One made a show of pushing Minhaj to the ground.”

Minhaj reiterated that his stand-up sets are “grounded in truth,” but the New Yorker pressed the comedian on his embellishments, asking him if he felt that he had manipulated his audience.

“No, I don’t think I’m manipulating,” he said. “I think they are coming for the emotional roller-coaster ride. To the people that are, like, ‘Yo, that is way too crazy to happen,’ I don’t care because yes, f— yes, that’s the point.”

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Hasan Minhaj says his stand-up stories are embellished but rooted in 'emotional truth.' Because that's comedy (2024)

FAQs

What is Hasan Minhaj accused of? ›

The New Yorker story alleges that Minhaj embellishes stories and is selective in the information he presents, creating routines based on "emotional truth" to make points about racism in America.

Which comedian fabricated stories? ›

15 story titled “Hasan Minhaj's 'Emotional Truths'” revealed that the comedian fabricated parts of his stand-up comedy stories in pursuit of poignancy, what he called “emotional truth.”

Why did Hasan Minhaj lose his job? ›

He was referring to a controversy sparked by a September story in the New Yorker that aimed to fact-check Minhaj's stand-up comedy. The month before, Variety had exclusively reported that he was the frontrunner to replace Trevor Noah as host of “The Daily Show,” but he lost the job after the scandal arose.

What is Hasan Minhaj famous for? ›

EXCLUSIVE. Pioneering, two-time Peabody Award-winning comedian Hasan Minhaj is the creator of Netflix's comedy show, Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, which brought an inclusive and nuanced perspective to global news, politics and culture.

Did Hasan Minhaj have fertility issues? ›

Minhaj has spoken about his and his wife's struggle to conceive. After his wife convinced him to go to a fertility clinic, it was determined the issue was with his fertility rather than hers. Minhaj underwent a varicocele repair procedure, after discovering there was too much blood in his scrotum.

What is off with his head about Hasan Minhaj? ›

His third live comedy special, Hasan Minhaj: Off With his Head, tackles subject matter familiar to his fans, including life as a South Asian American and dealing with immigrant parents.

Who was the comedian who jumped off the comedy store? ›

Shore also paid the rest of her staff, including waitresses and bartenders. After the strike, some comedians were no longer allowed to perform at the club, including Steve Lubetkin, who committed suicide by jumping off the roof of the Continental Hyatt House next door.

Which comedian played a semi fictional version of himself in an NBC sitcom? ›

Seinfeld gained stardom playing a semi-fictionalized version of himself in the NBC sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998), which he co-created and wrote with Larry David. Seinfeld earned a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy in 1995.

What comedians came from the comedy store? ›

This group of future stars included Robin Williams, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Garry Shandling, Paul Mooney, Jimmie “J.J.” Walker, Andy Kaufman, and Michael Keaton. It seemed as if every new sitcom star of the era could trace their career roots to The Comedy Store.

Is Hasan Minhaj related to Nicki Minaj? ›

Is Hasan Minhaj related to Nicki Minaj? No. I did briefly meet her at the Met Gala and I was like, "Hey, we should take a picture together." And Trevor Noah was like, "Hey, yeah, you should.

Why did Hasan Minhaj lose Daily Show? ›

Minhaj was a frontrunner for the gig, but lost out in the wake of a New Yorker article that attempted to fact-check his Netflix specials. Minhaj joked that losing the gig paved the way for the late-night show's resurgence, according to Variety.

How much does Hasan Minhaj charge per show? ›

An example fee to book Hasan Minhaj is in the starting range of $150,000-$299,000. However, any recent popularity change would cause a price fluctuation well beyond this example.

Is Hasan Minhaj wife a doctor? ›

Hasan Minhaj and Beena Patel in 2022. Patel is a public health doctor who holds a DrPH from UCLA. She is the executive director of the Vituity Cares Foundation, where she works to bridge gaps in healthcare to make it accessible to everyone.

What is the meaning of Minhaj? ›

Minhaj means "way" or "path" in Arabic. Minhaj may refer to: Minhaj-i-Siraj, 13th-century Persian historian of India.

Why were Minhaj's classmates mad at him on the Monday after the prom? ›

On the Monday after the prom, why were Minhaj's classmates mad at him? They were mad at him because he didn't say anything about Bethany's family. He told his class he decided not to go. He took the blame for her.

What does Hasan Minhaj's sister do? ›

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