Hasan Minhaj emerged as one of the most influential voices from South Asia in the United States. His political quips and satirical numbers unleashed the problems that the West and his motherland, India, faced through his Netflix show ‘Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj.’ However, in a recent profile, the comedian confessed that a lot of the information he presented was fictionalized.
Hasan Minhaj has done two Netflix specials titled ‘Homecoming King’ in 2017 and ‘The King’s Jester’ in 2022. In a new profile for The New Yorker, Minhaj, for the first time, confessed that he fabricated some of the important incidents that he told during the comedy specials. He cited the fact that he found the ’emotional truth’ greater than the ‘factual truth.’
Related: Top 25 Stand-Up Comedy Specials To Binge On Netflix
Hasan Minhaj Says His Stories Are Built Around A Seed Of Truth
In a new The New Yorker profile, Hasan Minhaj has admitted that most of the stories in his standup specials or the Netflix show did not have factual context. ‘The Daily Show’ alum said that most of his stories were fabricated. It also included the story about his daughter getting exposed to anthrax and getting hospitalized.
He said, “Every story in my style is built around a seed of truth. My comedy Arnold Palmer is seventy per cent emotional truth—this happened—and then thirty per cent hyperbole, exaggeration, fiction.”
In his Netflix special, Hasan Minhaj talked about a horrific incident about the spilling of white powder on his daughter, which led to her hospitalization for suspicion of anthrax. His wife, Beena Patel, was scared for the lives of their children.
She told him, “You get to say whatever you want onstage, and we have to live with the consequences. I don’t give a shit that Time magazine thinks you’re an “influencer.” If you ever put my kids in danger again, I will leave you in a second.” However, he confessed that nothing like that happened.
When the interviewer asked him if it was manipulation, he denied that he was manipulating the audience. 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, fuck yes—that’s the point.”
Even though it did not happen to him, Minhaj says, “I think what I’m ultimately trying to do is highlight all of those stories. Building what I think is a pointed argument.”
In Case You Missed: Top 5 Stand-Up Comedians Who Would Crack You Up On Netflix
The Comedian’s Story About A Felon-Turned-FBI Informant Was Also Fabricated
In Hasan Minhaj’s 2022 Netflix special, ‘The King’s Jester’, he talked about how police pinned him down after he confessed to Brother Eric, a converted Muslim, that he wanted to procure a pilot’s lesson. Brother Eric was an FBI informant, so when the comedian made the confession, he was caught by the police.
However, the story is completely concocted, and it was actually a story about how he was once pushed down the court when he used to play pickup basketball with middle-aged men. Hasan’s friend suspected them to be officers. He said that the story was based on “emotional truth.” He said, “The punchline is worth the fictionalized premise.” In conclusion, Hasan told the outlet, “The emotional truth is first. The factual truth is secondary.”
You Might Also Like To Read: Why Did John Mulaney Turn Down ‘The Daily Show’ Hosting Gig?
