‘EMOTIONAL TRUTHS’

Hasan Minhaj Jokes About That ‘New Yorker’ Piece, but He’s Still Kinda Mad About It

“Who the f--k fact-checks comedy?” Minhaj joked onstage on Thursday.

Hasan Minhaj still seems a little steamed about the explosive “emotional truths” New Yorker article in which he admitted some parts of his comedy were fabricated. At the Netflix Is a Joke festival on Thursday, Minhaj talked about losing the opportunity to take over The Daily Show from Trevor Noah—a role that, just a month earlier, he was reportedly poised to win—once The New Yorker article was published. “We’ve all failed in our lives, but have you ever failed so bad, you bring back Jon Stewart?” Minhaj said. “I saved a dying institution. You’re welcome.” He also riffed with friend and comedian Ronny Chieng, pretending to heckle the Crazy Rich Asians actor from the audience. After Chieng made a crack at Minhaj being “canceled” over the piece, he retorted, “You planted that story about me!” Joining Chieng on stage, he added, “Who the fuck fact-checks stand-up comedy? Only Ronny Chieng would set me up with some fucking mouth-breathing journalist. It was you!”