Hasan Minhaj Claps Back at ‘The New Yorker’ After Fabricating Stories Claims

The ‘Patriot Act’ comedian released a lengthy video to provide context to the stories that he was accused of fabricating while saying that the article was ‘misleading.’

Hasan Minhaj shared a detailed response to The New Yorker after he was the subject of a controversial September profile, which claimed that he fabricated or significantly exaggerated stories from his standup comedy specials. Hasan, 38, broke down and gave context for three stories that were highlighted in The New Yorker piece in a video for The Hollywood Reporter, released on Thursday, October 26.

The Patriot Act star claimed that he provided the magazine with further details and materials to corroborate his stories, but he said that they were left out of the article. “There were omissions and factual errors in The New Yorker article that misrepresented my life story, so I wanted to give people the context and materials I provided The New Yorker with full transparency,” he said.

Hasan said that he took a “beat” amid the ongoing war in the Middle East, as well as taking time to “process” what had happened. He also apologized to fans who felt hurt by the story but continued to say that the piece misrepresented him. “I just want to say to anyone who felt betrayed or hurt by my stand-up, I am sorry. I made artistic choices to express myself and drive home larger issues affecting me and my community, and I feel horrible that I let people down,” he said. “[The profile] was so needlessly misleading, not just about my stand-up, but also about me as a person. The truth is, racism, FBI surveillance and the threats to my family happened. And I said this on the record.”

Ahead of the release of THR’s piece, a spokesperson for The New Yorker stood by the profile. “This 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,” they said.

After the video was released, a spokesperson for The New Yorker again said that the magazine stands by the story in a statement obtained by HollywoodLife. “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,” they said.

As Hasan went through the stories, he explained instances where he embellished or changed details, such as explaining that in his story about asking a white girl to prom (whom he gives the alias “Bethany”), and her mother telling him they don’t want to take family photos with a “brown boy.” He said that conversation was real, but it took place a few days before prom. He also played audio of him telling The New Yorker reporter this. He also showed excerpts of emails and exchanges with the woman from the story that he says corroborate his claims. He also claimed that he continually did all he could to protect Bethany’s identity, including showing emails from her where she thanked him for doing so, although the article claimed that she had been a victim of doxing and death threats.

The other stories that he broke down included the one where he claimed that an envelope containing white powder spilled on his daughter and an incident where he said that he had a run-in with law enforcement after being racially profiled.

While he apologized for “embellishing” certain stories for his show, Hasan explained that there were distinctions between the types of comedy he performs in his Netflix specials and on shows like Patriot Act and The Daily Show. He said that he had “rigorous” fact-checking for the political news shows. “In political comedy, facts come first. In comedic storytelling, emotions come first. That is what I said, and that is what I meant,” he said. Towards the end of the clip, he promised to be more “thoughtful” about being more truthful in his stories.

This story has been updated to include The New Yorker’s updated statement.