Hasan Minhaj addresses controversy he makes up stories for stand-up, defends 'emotional truth'

When it comes to his standup comedy material, Hasan Minhaj doesn't shy away from taking creative liberties.

The 37-year-old comedian, known for his impactful presence in pop culture and on stage, often drawing from his experiences as an Asian American and Muslim American, openly acknowledged to The New Yorker in a profile released on Friday that his standup tales contain a significant element of artistic exaggeration, confessing they are "30% hyperbole, exaggeration, fiction."

The New Yorker independently verified that a number of Minhaj's narratives were embellished or partially invented. This included a story from his 2022 Netflix standup special, The King’s Jester, where he recounted an FBI informant infiltrating his family's mosque and a meeting he supposedly had with the Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C. to discuss the prospect of interviewing Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman just before the tragic incident involving journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Minhaj recounted that during his train journey back to New York after the embassy meeting, people sent him concerned messages, asking if he was okay and whether he was "following the news" regarding Khashoggi's demise.

In reality, Minhaj admitted that he manipulated the timelines: his encounter with the Saudi Embassy took place at least a month before Khashoggi's murder became public knowledge. However, Minhaj defended his narrative choices by saying he wanted to “make it feel the way it felt.”

"[My] everyday life is not particularly interesting or compelling," Minhaj confessed to The New Yorker. "My comedy storytelling certainly has to be.” He went on to clarify that each story "in my style" is founded on “a seed of truth."

"My comedy Arnold Palmer is 70% emotional truth — this happened — and then 30% hyperbole, exaggeration, fiction,” he elaborated.

"The emotional truth is first," he explained to the publication. "The factual truth is secondary."

Minhaj is familiar with dealing with criticism. Following his appearance on Celebrity Jeopardy! in November 2022, he faced harsh remarks from social media users, with some branding him as "irritating" and "painfully unfunny." One critic even dubbed him the worst contestant in the history of Jeopardy!