Hasan Minhaj spoke to Esquire magazine for a new cover story and recalled having a long conversation with John Stewart amid the prank scandal that cost Minhaj one of his dream jobs: hosting Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.” It’s a gig Stewart knows well, as he was the show’s host from 1999 to 2015 and currently sits behind the desk once a week during the 2024 presidential election.
Minhaj confirmed to Esquire that the job on “The Daily Show” was his, saying, “We were in discussions, and I had the gig, and we were pretty much ready to go.” Then controversy erupted after The New Yorker published a profile of Minhaj and fact-checked some of his jokes. It was revealed that Minhaj had embellished several stories for his stand-up acts and in the resulting backlash, “The Daily Show” hosting gig disappeared. That’s part of showbiz.”
Per Esquire: “In the aftermath of the story, Minhaj spoke with other comedians who are friends and mentors. Mike Birbiglia and Ramy Youssef got in touch. So did John Mulaney and Jon Stewart. He spent hours on the phone with them.”
“I remember Jon [Stewart] called and he said, ‘Why the fuck are they doing this? And who benefits from this?’” Minhaj said.
“It was painful, there’s no doubt about that,” the comedian said of the reaction. “It was the first time I saw the speed and speed of the internet, how quickly a story can take off. That part of it was very new to me and disorienting.
“The most painful thing is my wife and my parents,” Minhaj added. “To see them hurt, to see them going, ‘So I’m reading on the Internet…’ – it’s so painful. I’m the oldest. I feel very sad that I let my parents down… I am very lucky that they have seen many great highlights of my career. When I see them experience a painful moment, an embarrassing moment in your career, I wish I hadn’t done that to them. That’s the hard part.”
Variety exclusively reported in August 2023 that Minhaj had emerged as the frontrunner to take over “The Daily Show” as permanent host following the departure of Trevor Noah. Minhaj was one of several guest hosts who filled in after Noah’s departure as Comedy Central executives looked for a permanent host. The New Yorker interview published in September 2023, and later that month Variety reported that Comedy Central opened the search outside Minhaj in the wake of the backlash against him.
In a statement to Variety Created immediately after the story’s publication, Minhaj said: “All my stand-up stories are based on events that happened to me… I use the tools of stand-up comedy: hyperbole, changing names and locations and compressing timelines to to tell entertaining stories. That is inherent to the art form. You wouldn’t go to a haunted house and say, “Why are these people lying to me?” – The point is the ride. Stand-up is the same.”
Go to Esquire’s website to read Minhaj’s cover story in its entirety.