I can definitely empathize with why he did this, but I simply cannot condone it. If he had simply concluded each performance by revealing that some of his stories were exaggerated and/or fabricated while explaining his reasoning for having done so, as is the case with many narrative works/performance art pieces, that would have lent gravitas and credibility to his performances as a whole, but this? This is huxterism, and his admitting to it now, no matter how openly and without and shred of remorse makes him look all the worse for it.

Having read some of the specific stories he’s exaggerated; I feel I can empathize with some of them. For example he talks about how he felt when he was receiving death threats, and constructed a story that would be indicative of that feeling. however, in other stories he exaggerated events involving real people (his prospective date to the prom, for one) that his fans have identified and subsequently harassed.

celebrities have to be cognizant of this brigading effect they tend to have, even if they don’t condone it, and it seems like Hasan has no remorse for the ways his exaggerations have hurt the real people involved in his stories.

As a fan of his show, this is a shame. Patriot Act was the best thing in late night over the past ten years, and while this doesn’t diminish how good it is as entertainment, it does decrease his credibility, and people will take him less seriously now.

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