Hasan Minhaj lost 'Daily Show' gig after 'New Yorker' story scandal

Minhaj had embellished stories in his stand-up acts, and that led to the show's producers reconsidering their decision

Hasan Minhaj, a comedian who was in talks to host The Daily Show, lost the job after a controversy over his jokes. Minhaj had embellished several stories in his stand-up acts, and the backlash led to the show's producers reconsidering their decision.

Minhaj spoke about the incident in an interview with Esquire magazine. He said that he was "pretty much good to go" for the job but that the controversy "went away" after the backlash. Minhaj said that he was "very lucky" that his friends and mentors, including Jon Stewart, reached out to him after the incident.

Stewart called Minhaj and questioned the backlash, saying "Why the f— are they doing this?" Minhaj said that the experience was "painful" and that he felt "really, really sad" that he had let his parents down.
 

 

 

 

 

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The Daily Show producers had been searching for a permanent host to replace Trevor Noah, who left the show in December 2023. Minhaj was one of several guest hosts who filled in during the search. However, after the controversy, Comedy Central decided to open up the search to other candidates.

In a statement to Variety, Minhaj defended his jokes, saying that they were "based on events that happened to me." He also said that he used "hyperbole, changing names and locations and compressing timelines" to tell entertaining stories.

Variety reported in August 2023 that Minhaj was a frontrunner to host The Daily Show. However, after the controversy, Comedy Central decided to start the search over.