He’s taking aim at his old boss.
Comedian Hasan Minhaj, 38 — who seemed to have “The Daily Show” host gig in the bag to succeed Trevor Noah until he lost it amid scandal — is addressing what happened.
At the “Netflix Is a Joke” comedy festival on Thursday, Minhaj hosted a showcase featuring a variety of comedians.
During the set, comedian Ronny Chieng joked, “I’m surprised that Hasan’s able to do this show. I guess ‘canceling’ is not what it used to be.”
According to Variety, Minhaj pretended to heckle Chieng from the crowd.
“You planted that story about me!” he called out, joking, before joining him onstage.
Minhaj continued: “Who the f–k fact-checks stand-up comedy? Only Ronny Chieng would set me up with some f–king mouth-breathing journalist. It was you!”
Chieng mentioned “The Daily Show,” to which Minhaj replied, “A job you f–ked me out of.”
Minhaj ended by saying, “We’ve all failed in our lives, but have you ever failed so bad, you bring back Jon Stewart?”
Minhaj was referring to a 2023 profile in the New Yorker, which alleged that he fabricated supposedly “autobiographical” stories in his stand-up.
In the September 2023 article titled “Hasan Minhaj’s ‘Emotional Truths,’” reporter Clare Malone broke down the details of his biographical comedy around his experience growing up as a Muslim American and an Asian American.
Around six weeks after that story was published, Minhaj retaliated with a 21-minute “rebuttal” video.
In the video, he said, “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,” adding that he comes off as a “psycho” in the story.
In his 2022 stand-up special “The King’s Jester,” he alleged that he once opened a letter filled with white powder that fell on his daughter. He and his wife, Beena Patel, took their daughter to the hospital and were told hours later it was not anthrax, as they initially feared.
The New Yorker reported that this anecdote — among other stories he told about experiencing racial discrimination — had some fudged facts.
In the video, Minhaj confirmed the New Yorker’s reporting that he did not take his daughter to a hospital. He said she was nearby when he opened an envelope with white powder — and the fabrication was meant to highlight and emphasize the “shock and fear” that he and his wife felt that day.
“Being accused of fake racism is not trivial. It is very serious, and it demands an explanation,” Minhaj said in his response video.
In a statement to The Post shortly after the article was published, Minhaj said: “I use the tools of stand-up comedy — hyperbole, changing names and locations, and compressing timelines — to tell entertaining stories.”
He continued, “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. Stand-up is the same.”
In a statement posted on social media, Malone and the New Yorker said they “stand by” the article, noting that it was carefully reported and based on over 20 interviews, was fact-checked, and included the comedian’s “perspective at length.”
According to a January report in the Hollywood Reporter, Minhaj’s deal to take over “The Daily Show” after Noah’s departure was “all but done by late summer.”
However, after the New Yorker published that article, he lost this “all but done” gig.
Stewart, 61, was the host of the Comedy Central satirical news show from 1999 until 2015. Noah, 40, then took over the gig in 2015 before leaving in 2022.
There’s been a rotating lineup of hosts since Noah’s departure, with a roster including Minhaj, Chelsea Handler and Leslie Jones. Stewart returned among the rotating roster on Mondays.
THR reported that Minhaj was seen as a “liability” after that scandal, which cost him the job.
Minhaj is on a stand-up tour titled “Off With His Head,” and he’ll tape a special over the summer.