Help keep Salon independent

Bill Maher calls Hasan Minhaj the Jussie Smollett of stand-up on “Real Time”

In the segment on Minhaj, Maher compares his "emotional truths" to those of "big lie" Trumpers

Senior Culture Editor

Published

Hasan Minhaj guest hosts "The Daily Show" (Comedy Central)
Hasan Minhaj guest hosts "The Daily Show" (Comedy Central)

In a segment of "Real Time with Bill Maher" on Friday night, Maher devoted a good portion of time to his take on the fairly recent Hasan Minhaj scandal, in which the comedian and fill-in for "The Daily Show" was found to have embellished details from his life for the sake of material. Comparing Minhaj's "emotional truths" — as they were described in an article by The New Yorker — to those of Trump supporters who refuse to believe that Biden won because "it doesn't feel right," Maher made a case for honesty overall, even in cases where it may not land a punchline.

"When the Right does this, we call it conspiracy theories, and rightfully so," Maher said on the topic of bending hopes and feelings into facts. "When the Left does it, we call it emotional truth, Which brings me to Hasan Minhaj, the comedian who answers the question, ‘What if Jussie Smollett did stand-up?’”

Tossing it back to The New Yorker article, which details the ways in which “the stories Mr. Minhaj tells in his act to elicit sympathy for himself as a Muslim and a person of color are completely made up,” Maher found a way to tie it back to himself with, "He’s done this before with me. Accusing me of saying Muslims should be put in internment camps—something I’ve never come close to thinking, let alone saying. How is that different than this guy?" Here, he cuts to a clip of Trump claiming to have seen thousands of people cheering in New Jersey on 9/11. Watch below:

 

 

By Kelly McClure

Kelly McClure is Salon's Senior Culture Editor, where she helps further coverage of TV, film, music, books and culture trends from a unique and thoughtful angle. Her work has also appeared in Vulture, Vanity Fair, Vice and many other outlets that don't start with the letter V. She is the author of one sad book called "Something Is Always Happening Somewhere." Follow her on Bluesky: @WolfieVibes

MORE FROM Kelly McClure

Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Related Articles