Mehdi Hasan’s appearance in a heated CNN election debate is a reminder of his growing status in America after becoming one of the few British broadcasters to ‘make it’ in the country.
The Swindon-born 45-year-old made a name for himself in the UK for his fiery appearances on Question Time, and it appears his confrontational approach is going down well in the polarised US media landscape.
After developing his reputation as a left-wing commentator, Hasan was handed his own show on MSNBC in 2021. While this was axed last year, he remains a staple of the so-called ‘progressive’ talk show circuit and writes a column for the Guardian.
But his rise has not been without controversy, with Hasan – who is a Muslim – criticised for historic comments where he likened gay people to ‘paedophiles’ and non-Muslims to ‘animals’.
While he has since apologised for the hate-filled rants, he continues to attract controversy for his outspoken views on the Israel-Hamas war – which he has repeatedly described as a ‘genocide’.
Mehdi Hasan – seen last night on CNN – has established himself as a familiar figure in the left-wing US media landscape
Hasan is a staple on left-leaning talk shows and is seen here appearing on Late Night With Seth Meyers
Hasan last made headlines by clashing with right-wing commentator Ryan Girdusky on CNN last night – with Girdusky slammed for likening him to a Hezbollah terrorist.
Girdusky was booted from Abby Phillip’s show after telling Hasan ‘I hope your beeper doesn’t go off’ – a reference to a wave of booby-trapped pager explosions across Lebanon last month that targeted Hezbollah fighters.
In response, Hasan accused Girdusky of calling for him to be killed.
Born in Swindon to Indian parents, Hasan graduated from Oxford University and went on to work for the BBC, Sky, Channel 4 and the New Statesman before joining Al Jazeera in 2012.
Ironically given his hard-left views, Hasan previously revealed how he was given one of his first breaks in journalism by then Spectator editor Boris Johnson after he met him on an Oxford debating panel.
‘I kind of made fun of him in my speech,’ Hasan told Press Gazette. ‘And afterwards, I brazenly went up to him in the green room and said: ”Can I have an internship at The Spectator?” Because I thought it would be fun. And he weirdly said yes.’
Hasan did two weeks of work experience at the magazine and recalled Mr Johnson ‘singing Christmas carols and signing Christmas cards in the office’, which he described as ‘a little bit over the top’.
The up-and-coming journalist worked on Al Jazeera’s English language channel from 2012 until 2015, before joining its UpFront discussion panel in the US.
Hasan later presented the Medhi Hasan Show on Peacock from 2020 and on MSNBC from 2021 until 2023.
Hasan pictured at a Labour Party conference in 2012. He is now a naturalised US citizen
He has been critical of Israeli policy towards Gaza, branding Israel’s strikes in the Palestinian enclave a ‘genocide’ while acknowledging the unsettling prevalence of antisemitism in anti-Zionist groups, and denouncing Hamas.
He became a naturalised citizen of the US in 2020.
While passionately left-wing, Hasan has been open about views that break from the mainstream.
While he personally opposes abortion, he bashed the overturning of Roe v. Wade, judging that the law should uphold a woman’s right to choose.
The canning of Hasan’s MSNBC show came after his strong on air criticism of Israel provoked a backlash – although the network has insisted this was not the reason for his departure.
In October last year, Hasan clashed with Mark Regev, Senior Adviser to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, telling him ‘your government kills children’.
The presenter was also facing pressure after homophobic and offensive comments, including likening gay people to ‘pedophiles’ and non-Muslims to ‘animals’, circulated online, Fox News reported.
‘We know that keeping the moral high ground is key. Once we lose the moral high ground, we are no different from the rest of the non-Muslims, from the rest of those human beings who live their lives as animals, bending any rule to fulfill any desire,’ Hasan said in an unearthed clip from 2009.
Hasan previously addressed the controversy when it resurfaced in 2019.
Writing on X, the journalist said: ‘Like a lot of journos (humans?) I’ve said things years ago that I now deeply regret.
Hasan hosted his own show on MSNBC before it was cancelled
‘Chief among them for me is, more than a decade ago, in my 20s, when I wasn’t a public figure, I gave a bunch of speeches to students on Islam/extremism. And I said dumb offensive ranty stuff.
‘Speaking without notes, & trying to be bombastic, I made stupid sweeping remarks about non-Muslims, especially atheists.
‘I cringe now when I rehear/reread those remarks. I made stupid offensive analogies to animals. Argh. I’m embarrassed to have to write about all this again.’
He added: ‘Growing up in a conservative faith community, where you didn’t interact with *actual* gay people, I ended up making insensitive remarks, that I’ve apologized for before.’
Last August, Hasan was involved in a social media row with Jordan Peterson which saw the psychologist criticised for calling him ‘not really brown’.
Following a racist attack in Florida, Hasan had shared a monologue in which he appealed to conservatives to clamp down on hate.
‘This brown Muslim is asking the white conservative community to get your house in order,’ he said.
‘Crack down on the hate preachers who you’ve empowered, condemn the right of white supremacist ideology.’
In response, Peterson posted on X: ‘You’re not really brown. More like a light tan. Just like ‘white people’. Plus you’re a Caucasian by definition buddy.’
Hasan used his latest Guardian column to describe Israel as a ‘rogue nation’ and call for it to be removed from the United Nations.
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