“We were pretty much ready to go”

Hassan Minhaj recently opened up and talked about the loss The daily Shows Moderation after his interview with The New Yorker.

The controversy began when the news agency published the article in September 2023, accusing him of “embellishing” various “true stories” for his stand-up comedy shows.

Recently, Hassan was in conversation with esquireand he claimed: “We were in talks, I had the job and we were pretty much ready to go.”

Recalling the “painful” incident, he admitted: “It was painful, there's no doubt about it. It was the first time I experienced the speed and dynamic nature of the internet, how quickly a story can spread. That part was very new and confusing to me.”

“The most painful thing is my wife and my parents. To see them suffering, to see them dealing with 'So I'm reading on the Internet…' – it's so painful. I'm the oldest. I'm really, really sad that I disappointed my parents… I'm very happy that they were able to experience many beautiful highlights of my career,” he added.

In view of this claim The daily show As one graduate put it, “The New Yorker article contained omissions and factual errors that misrepresented my life story. So I wanted to share with people the context and materials I provided to the New Yorker in full transparency.”

He was also aware of the complexity of global problems such as racism, stressing: “Given everything that is happening in the world, I am aware that it now feels so trivial to even talk about it.”

“The accusation of feigning racism is not trivial. It is very serious and requires an explanation,” he stressed.

Amid the controversy, contemporaries such as Jon Stewart, John Mulaney, Roy Wood Jr., Ronny Chieng and Ramy Youssef expressed their support.

It is important to mention that Hassan missed the chance to host The daily show after Trevor Noah's exit, but his stand-up special Head off is scheduled to be released on Netflix on October 22, 2024.