In the profile it was alleged that he fabricated or exaggerated elements of stories he tells in his stand-up comedy, a bombshell story that raised questions about his public persona. Get the full story in this video.
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00:00 I've also been asked, wait a second, aren't you a liar?"
00:05 Hasan Minhaj is speaking out about his New Yorker profile, saying it was needlessly misleading.
00:10 In the profile, it was alleged that he fabricated or exaggerated elements of stories he tells
00:15 in a stand-up comedy, a bombshell story that raised questions about his public persona.
00:20 In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, he says, "There were omissions and factual
00:24 errors in the New Yorker article that misrepresented my life story, so I wanted to give people
00:29 the context and materials I provided the New Yorker with full transparency."
00:33 In a lengthy video, Minhaj provided more context on three stories from a stand-up act that
00:38 drew scrutiny in the New Yorker.
00:40 Being rejected from prom because of racism, his run-ins with undercover law enforcement
00:44 surveilling the Muslim community in his hometown, and an anthrax scare he had at his home.
00:49 "I'm aware even talking about this now feels so trivial, but being accused of faking
00:56 racism is not trivial.
00:59 It is very serious and it demands an explanation."
01:02 He noted, "The reason I feel horrible is because I'm not a psycho, but this New Yorker article
01:07 definitely made me look like one.
01:09 It was so needlessly misleading, not just about my stand-up, but also about me as a
01:13 person."
01:14 "Racism, FBI surveillance, and threats to my family happened, and I said this on the
01:20 record."
01:21 In Minhaj's Netflix special "Homecoming King," he tells a story of asking a white girl to
01:25 go to prom, only to show up at her house and be told by her mother that she won't go with
01:30 him because her family doesn't want their daughter in pictures with a brown boy.
01:34 The New Yorker noted that the story was not factually accurate and led to the woman's
01:37 identity being exposed.
01:39 "Bethany's mom did really say that.
01:43 It was just a few days before prom.
01:46 And I created the doorstep scene to drop the audience into the feeling of that moment,
01:51 which I told the reporter."
01:53 Minhaj said he and his team provided the New Yorker with emails and texts that corroborated
01:57 the story, and yet they misled readers by excluding all of that and splicing two different
02:02 quotes together to leave you thinking that I made up a racist incident.
02:05 "This whole paragraph makes it sound like I got friendzoned by Bethany, and then I turned
02:11 into an angry incel and then faked racism to get back at her."
02:14 Regarding the other stories from his stand-up, Minhaj admits, and has never denied that he
02:18 embellished parts of the stories.
02:20 "I thought I had two different expectations built into my work.
02:25 My work as a storytelling comedian and my work as a political comedian, where facts
02:32 always come first."
02:33 He continued, "But in my work as a storytelling comedian, I assumed the lines between truth
02:38 and fiction were allowed to be a bit more blurry."
02:40 He then closes the video with the longer version of the quote the New Yorker's story ended
02:45 on.
02:46 "He told me the emotional truth is first, the factual truth is secondary."
02:49 "The latter, the truth comes first.
02:52 Comedy sometimes comes second to make the infotainment the sugar on the medicine.
02:57 In this, the emotional truth is first, the factual truth is secondary."
03:02 For more on this story, head to THR.com.
03:05 And for the latest entertainment news and updates, keep watching The Hollywood Reporter
03:09 News.
03:09 (whooshing)
03:12 (upbeat music)