Hasan Minhaj Allegations Spark Conspiracy Theories

Fans of comedian Hasan Minhaj have claimed astory about him in The New Yorker was a "hit job."

The former Daily Show correspondent has spoken out about a September profile of him in the magazine which he described as "needlessly misleading."

In the article written by Clare Malone, Minhaj opened up about the content of his stand-up comedy being "built around a seed of truth," which started a debate online with many accusing him of faking stories about racism and being under FBI surveillance.

"My comedy Arnold Palmer is seventy percent emotional truth—this happened—and then thirty percent hyperbole, exaggeration, fiction," he was quoted as saying.

He did not publicly acknowledge the article until Thursday when he published a 20-minute video saying it made him look "like a psycho."

"To everyone who read that article," he said, "I want to answer the biggest question that's probably on your mind: Is Hasan Minhaj secretly a psycho? Underneath all that pomade, is Hasan Minhaj just a con artist who uses fake racism and Islamophobia to advance his career? Because after reading that article, I would also think that."

"I just want to say to anyone who felt betrayed or hurt by my stand-up, I am sorry. I made artistic choices to express myself and drive home larger issues affecting me and my community, and I feel horrible that I let people down."

Minhaj added: "The reason I feel horrible is because I'm not a psycho. But this New Yorker article definitely made me look like one. It was so needlessly misleading, not just about my stand-up, but also about me as a person. The truth is, racism, FBI surveillance, and the threats to my family happened. And I said this on the record."

The New Yorker and Malone said they stand by the story in a statement which she shared to her account on X, formerly Twitter.

"Hasan Minhaj confirms in this video that he selectively presents information and embellishes to make a point: exactly what we reported," the statement read.

"Our piece, which includes Minhaj's perspective at length, was carefully reported and fact-checked. It is based on interviews with more than twenty people, including former Patriot Act and Daily Show staffers; members of Minhaj's security team; and people who have been the subject of his standup work, including the former F.B.I. informant "Brother Eric" and the woman at the center of his prom-rejection story. We stand by our story."

Following Minhaj's video and The New Yorker's response, many of his fans turned to conspiracy theories about the article, including that it was written to prevent him from replacing Trevor Noah as host of the Daily Show.

"After reading the original New Yorker piece and watching Hasan pull out the receipts, I'm of the opinion that Malone's article and subsequent legalese-riddled response was never actually about Minaj's material or integrity. It was, and is, PR for the FBI," tweeted one person.

Another added: "So the [New Yorker] piece on Hasan Minaj was definitely a hit job to get him off the daily show host shortlist."

And a third wrote: "Wow. This is pretty horrible. Hasan Minhaj has just produced the recording of the interview and the documents he provided to the reporter, showing that The New Yorker totally smeared him. They absolutely should not stand by the story."