American comedian of Indian-origin Hasan Minhaj, known for his politically charged Netflix show Patriot Act, was not allowed to enter the venue where PM Narendra Modi’s US mega-event ‘Howdy Modi’ took place.
About 50,000 people of the Indian-American community attended the event at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on Sunday, 22 September, that was jointly addressed by the Indian prime minister and US President Donald Trump.
A video is doing the rounds on social media, in which Hasan is seen talking to a media coordinator from the press registration desk outside the venue on phone.
In the call, which was on loudspeaker, Minhaj was enquiring with the organiser about his credentials for the event.
Take a look at the video.
"We're just trying to get our credentials," the comedian said.
"There are no credentials," the coordinator replied.
"But our credentials are right here," Minhaj said.
He then asked, "But you told me we were denied because of the jokes".
To this, the person on the phone replied, "No, I didn't say you were denied because of the jokes."
Minhaj said, "But some people were not happy."
The coordinator said, "Yeah, some people were not happy, but that doesn't matter to me much. The reason I can't get you in is due to the lack of space for broadcast crews."
The last Twitter activity on the comedian’s account is a picture in which he can be seen standing in front of the venue.
"Here to celebrate two great nations coming together. India first. But America first too. #HowdyModi," Minhaj captioned the photo.
Hasan recently faced a lot of heat on social media for his episodes on Indian elections and the media clampdown in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)