Hasan Minhaj’s The Daily Show Job Loss: Comedian Discusses Recent Controversy Impacting His Opportunity

Hasan Minhaj has revealed that he was in line to host The Daily Show before the opportunity slipped away amid the controversy surrounding his “embellished”jokes. In a feature published on September 25, 2023, in Esquire, the comedian discussed the hosting role, stating that he “had”the position secured before it fell through. He recounted:

“We were in the talks, and I had the gig, and we were pretty much good to go.”

However, he later received a call informing him that the job was no longer his. Minhaj reflected:

“It went away. That’s part of showbiz.”

This turn of events occurred in light of the backlash stemming from his profile in The New Yorker titled “Emotional Truths,” published on September 15, 2023.

For those unfamiliar, the article by New Yorker staff writer Clare Malone detailed her meeting with Minhaj at a West Village comedy club, where he discussed his stand-up performances. The piece investigated some of his jokes, claiming that he had embellished details in his work, particularly in his Netflix special, The King’s Jester.

According to the article, one fabricated story involved a white powder sent to his home that allegedly spilled on his daughter. Minhaj later conceded that many anecdotes in his Netflix special were not entirely true, though he maintained they were “built around a seed of truth.”

Malone’s investigation also noted that Minhaj described his previous comedy show, Arnold Palmer, as “seventy percent emotional truth”with the remaining thirty percent consisting of hyperbole, exaggeration, and fiction.

On October 26, 2023, Minhaj posted a 20-minute video defending his storytelling and criticized the article as “needlessly misleading.”Nevertheless, the backlash had already commenced, costing him the hosting role on The Daily Show.

“It was painful”— Hasan Minhaj reflects on the joke controversy that cost him The Daily Show opportunity

In the same Esquire feature, Hasan Minhaj described the disorienting experience of being attacked online and labeled a liar following the release of The New Yorker article. He expressed:

“It was painful, there’s no doubt about it. It was the first time I saw the steep and velocity of the Internet, how quickly a story can take off. That part of it was very new to me and disorienting.”

While Minhaj acknowledged that losing the hosting gig—where he was the frontrunner to replace Trevor Noah after his departure in 2023—was a facet of show business, he admitted the impact was hard on him and his family. He shared with the publication that it was “so painful”to witness his wife and parents grappling with the negative narratives circulating about him online.

Furthermore, Hasan Minhaj revealed feelings of having disappointed his parents. He reflected on the experience of seeing his loved ones endure discomfort and embarrassment because of his controversy, stating:

“Watching them experience a painful moment, an embarrassing moment in your career, I wish I didn’t put them through that. That’s the tough part.”

Despite the strain on his career, Minhaj found solace in the support of friends and fellow comedians during this difficult time. He recounted a conversation with Jon Stewart, the current weekly host of The Daily Show, who expressed confusion over the article’s intent. Minhaj also shared that he spent significant time on the phone with fellow comedians like Mike Birbiglia and Ramy Youssef. In a July 2024 roundtable to support Minhaj, Youssef stated to The Hollywood Reporter that comedy is “not a thing to fact-check.”

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