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?’”
