Roy Wood Jr. Defends Hasan Minhaj After ‘Embellishment’ Controversy, Says Comedian Could Still Host ‘The Daily Show’
Former “Daily Show” correspondent Roy Wood Jr. has defended Hasan Minhaj, saying that last month’s “embellishment” controversy should not take the “Patriot Act” star out of running to become the permanent host of the Comedy Central series.
“I don’t believe Hasan could never host because of his situation. I don’t necessarily agree with that,” Wood told Variety on Wednesday. After a New Yorker article last month questioned the truth of his stand-up routines, Minhaj admitted to making up or embroidering stories of racial harassment that supposedly happened to him.
“I definitely think there is a place for him to clarify his intentions, but nothing about what Hasan did, none of it has to do with the content he presented on ‘The Patriot Act,’” said Wood, referring to the show Minhaj hosted on Netflix from 2018 to 2020.
“Can he show up and do the job? I say yes,” Wood insisted. Minhaj had been unofficially considered to be the front-runner for the job formerly held by Trevor Noah and Jon Stewart until the New Yorker story came out.
Wood, who quit “The Daily Show” last week after eight years amid the continued search for a permanent host, still wants to be considered for the position. As he told Sherri Shepherd on Monday, “It could still happen.”
As for why he decided to step down now instead of waiting for a host to be chosen, Wood said, “Let’s be real — the [person who is chosen as the] host may not want me. I might not fit into the sensibility of the host.” He added that that “waiting around for that question to be answered” was his motivation for leaving when he did.
A rotating series of guests hosts for “The Daily Show” have been set through the end of the year, including Leslie Jones and Sarah Silverman as well as Desus Nice of “Desus and Meru;” Charlamagne tha God, who used to host “Hell of a Week,” and former correspondent Michelle Wolf.
Wolf also hosted “The Break with Michelle Wolf” and was the featured performer at the 2018 White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
The post Roy Wood Jr. Defends Hasan Minhaj After ‘Embellishment’ Controversy, Says Comedian Could Still Host ‘The Daily Show’ appeared first on TheWrap.
