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Hasan Minhaj Opened Up About His Daily Show Firing, But Roy Wood Jr’s Comments About What The Cast Knew About It Are Blowing My Mind

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If you’ve been tuning into The Daily Show according to its 2025 lineup, you’ll recognize that Jon Stewart hosts the satirical news program every Monday, with Michael Kosta, Desi Lydia, Ronny Chieng, or Jordan Klepper taking over for the rest of the week. However, there was a point in 2023 when Hasan Minhaj, a former Daily Show talent, seemed set to become the permanent host, but this opportunity was lost due to a scandal involving his standup comedy material. More recently, Minhaj has spoken about his dismissal, but it’s Roy Wood Jr.’s remarks about the cast’s knowledge of the situation at that time that have piqued my interest.

Similar to Minhaj, Roy Wood Jr. served as a correspondent on The Daily Show, starting from September 2015 when Trevor Noah took over as host, and ending in October 2023. Both of them were part of a THR roundtable with comedians like Seth Meyers, Jamie Foxx, Chelsea Handler, and Sarah Silverman. When asked about finding the humor in his hosting job being handed over to someone else, Minhaj responded:

One of the initial humorous thoughts that popped into my mind was when I phoned a friend and said, ‘So, how’s it going?’ To which he replied, ‘The article is terrible, but the pictures are great.’ My response was, ‘That’s absolutely hilarious!’ It’s also amusing in an objective sense to falter so significantly that you manage to bring back Jon Stewart. That’s undeniably funny.

Initially, Hasan Minhaj served as a correspondent on The Daily Show in 2014, which was a year prior to Jon Stewart’s first departure. He continued with the show until 2018, at which point he moved on to present his temporary Netflix comedy talk show, Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj. However, in early 2023, he returned to his previous workplace for a week as a guest host. Later in the same year, it was rumored that he was the leading contender to become the permanent host.

In September, an article in New Yorker alleged that Minhaj had exaggerated some stories in his standup comedy. This controversy, coupled with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes delaying plans to introduce a new host for the Daily Show by fall, ultimately led to the deal being cancelled. Later on, Roy Wood Jr. shared his reaction to learning about this development.

Couldn’t I phrase it like this instead: When they announced from The Daily Show that Hasan wouldn’t be the host, there was no explanation given and everyone was left wondering, “If it won’t be Hasan, who will it be? Should I stick around? What happened to Hasan?” They just said they were going to reopen the search. No one could articulate what exactly they thought you were being accused of.

As a devoted fan looking back at 2023, I remember Roy Wood Jr.’s final appearance on The Daily Show happening in May, but it wasn’t until October that he formally bid farewell. It left me puzzled since during those summer and autumn months, the show was off-air while we, the actors, writers, and crew, were still in touch regarding the Hasan Minhaj situation. Yet, despite our close ties, we couldn’t get a clear picture of what exactly was unfolding behind the scenes. It just feels so unusual to me that those involved with The Daily Show wouldn’t be informed about the reasons for the shakeup happening.

In this discussion, Hasan Minhaj didn’t just remind us that his absence had led to Jon Stewart’s return to The Daily Show on previous occasions. This time, he drew an analogy – suggesting that if Seth Meyers had passed away, Johnny Carson might have been brought back as the host of Late Night (although he hosted The Tonight Show). It’s worth noting that Stewart’s comeback has proven successful so far, as he’s still in his role until December and there’s a possibility he may renew his contract for a 2026 run.

On weekdays, The Daily Show is broadcast at 11 p.m. Eastern Time on Comedy Central, with replays available later through a Paramount+ subscription. In the future, you can catch Hasan Minhaj in the 2025 film release of Tron: Ares, and Roy Wood Jr. will take over hosting duties for CNN’s Have I Got News for You starting in September.

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2025-05-23 16:37

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