Liberal comedian Hasan Minhaj’s aspirations to host “The Daily Show” may have been dashed over allegedly lying about racial experiences in his standup sets, Variety reports.
Comedy Central has expanded its search beyond Minhaj amid the recent allegations that he fabricated stories in his stand-up sets, according to a Wednesday report in Variety. Minhaj was reportedly considered the heavy favorite to land a hosting role on the long-running late-night comedy talk show. The network has been searching for a permanent host for the show since Trevor Noah announced his departure in 2022. (RELATED: Trevor Noah Says Gender Reveal Parties Are ‘Outdated’ Because Babies Are Too Young To Choose Their Gender)
Minhaj’s talent agency, WME, declined to comment to Variety on the matter, as did Comedy Central.
Minhaj initially came under fire after The New Yorker published an article Sept. 15 alleging he fabricated experiences with racism in his standup routines.
“In Minhaj’s approach to comedy, he leans heavily on his own experience as an Asian American and Muslim American, telling harrowing stories of law-enforcement entrapment and personal threats,” Clare Malone wrote. “For many of his fans, he has become an avatar for the power of representation in entertainment. But, after many weeks of trying, I had been unable to confirm some of the stories that he had told onstage. When we met on a recent afternoon, at a comedy club in the West Village, Minhaj acknowledged, for the first time, that many of the anecdotes he related in his Netflix specials were untrue.”
“Every story in my style is built around a seed of truth,” he told Malone. “My comedy Arnold Palmer is seventy percent emotional truth—this happened—and then thirty percent hyperbole, exaggeration, fiction.”
“The Daily Show” has experimented with a revolving panel of hosts since Noah’s surprise exit. In his exit statement, Noah explained he wanted to leave the show in order to enjoy other parts of life.
“I feel like it’s time, I spent two years in my apartment not on the road, standup was done, and when I got back out there again I realized there’s another part of my life that I want to carry on exploring. I miss learning other languages, I miss going to other countries and putting on shows,” Noah said in September 2022.