Former Patriot Act presenter Hasan Minhaj announced Esquire The advice Jon Stewart gave him after a 2023 race New Yorker The profile, which Hasan described as “unnecessarily misleading.”
Stewart famously hosted Daily Show From 1999 to 2015, before Trevor Noah took the reins. Stewart returned to the show in a weekly capacity in 2024 after a permanent host could not be decided upon. However, Minhaj was widely seen as the favourite to succeed him New Yorker's unflattering profile, which accused him of exaggerating elements of his stand-up show about being subjected to racist treatment.
“We had discussions and I got the job and we were ready to go,” Minhaj said. EsquireBut, he admitted, “It's gone. It's part of show business.”
Minhaj said Stewart called him after the fight to offer some solace. “Why are they doing this?” he recalled Stewart asking. “And who benefits from it?” Like Minhaj, Stewart felt the decision was more about politics than the comedian’s jokes. He urged Minhaj to turn the experience into stand-up material. “This is great for you,” Stewart told him.
“When Jon told me that, I really felt seen,” Minhaj said. He went on to include material about the incident in his latest special, Cut off his head.
At the time of the profile’s publication, Minhaj responded to some of the magazine’s “misleading” claims in a 21-minute video posted on social media. “The report contained omissions and factual errors New Yorker It was an article that misrepresented my life story, so I wanted to give people the context and materials I provided New Yorker “With full transparency,” he explained.