‘Hyperbole, exaggeration part of art’, Hasan Minhaj defends fabricating details in his standup comedies

livemint.com:

The New York Times. The 37-year-old comedian defended his tactics in a lengthy statement to The New York Post. “I use the tools of standup comedy—hyperbole, changing names and locations, and compressing timelines to tell entertaining stories." “That’s 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. Standup is the same," Minjah told The Post. In one of his tales, he described how a girl had declined to go to a prom with him.

According to Minhaj, he was brown and this was the cause. But it's since been revealed to be false. Minhaj related another incident in which he received an envelope containing white powder, some of which spilled onto his small daughter.

According to the story, Minhaj took his daughter to the hospital out of concern that it might be anthrax. However, Clare Malone's report reveals that the hospitalization portion was a lie, The Post reported. His long response to The Post came after the American comedian's remarks on his standup comedies in which he claimed that the stories are based on events that happened to him in real life.

“All my standup stories are based on events that happened to me. Yes, I was rejected from going to prom because of my race. Yes, a letter with powder was sent to my apartment that almost harmed my daughter." “I use the tools of standup comedy—hyperbole, changing names and locations, and compressing timelines to tell entertaining stories.