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Hasan Minhaj once called out Ellen DeGeneres for how she said his name: "A big deal because..."

Ellen DeGeneres got Hasan Minhaj’s name wrong, and he made sure to set the record straight—on national TV.

Hasan Minhaj, the charismatic host of the Netflix comedy show 'Patriot Act', is no stranger to discussing cultural identity. But during a 2019 appearance on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show', he found himself in a moment that resonated with millions. The issue? His name. Ellen introduced him as "Ha-saan Min-aaj," with an unsure inflection, prompting Hasan to correct her immediately. "No," he said, shaking his head. Ellen, surprised, asked, "Really?" to which Hasan firmly repeated, "No. Well, my name is Has-en Min-haj." Determined to set the record straight on national television, he added, “It is a big deal because my parents are also here.”

He continued, "People always mispronounce it. They are always like Haseen Minaja, Hussein. ‘I'm so sorry I can't pronounce it.’ Meet my son, Higsby Witherthrottle III!” He joked, highlighting the irony of people struggling with his name while easily pronouncing more complex Western names. Ellen gave it another go, but this time said, "Hassin Menish." Hasan remained patient and said, "No, I appreciate people trying." On her third attempt, she finally nailed it: "Hasan Minhaj."

A visibly relieved Hasan responded with joy, "Yes, that's it." Minjah also shared, "Look, when I first started doing comedy, people told me, ‘You should change your name,’ but I refused." Then, he made an excellent point: “If you can pronounce Ansel Elgort, you can pronounce Hasan Minhaj... There’s an actor just named 'Ansel Elgort', and we all just walk around pronouncing it completely normally." The audience erupted in laughter.

When Ellen asked, "What do they do at Starbucks?" (which is known for always mispronouncing names). “At Starbucks, I go by Timothee Chalamet, I keep it simple," he deadpanned, leaving the audience and Ellen in stitches. Later, Minhaj also reflected on the moment on his show 'Patriot Act' and created an entire segment 'Hasan's Pronunciation Guide' to teach people how to correctly pronounce difficult names. By the end of his impromptu name pronunciation class, Hasan had successfully taught Ellen how to say not only his name but also his parents’ names correctly. “Hello, Najme and Seema,” Ellen said, this time with precision.

Fans praised the moment, with one YouTube comment reading, “Bravo, Hasan! Doing this on Ellen set an example for so many people from diverse backgrounds.” With 38 million views, the viral clip continues to inspire. One Twitter user shared, “Tell them! I’m a Black girl with one of ‘those names,’ and I used to shy away from using it. But now, like Hasan, I insist—this is my name. Say it correctly.” Another person wrote, “At some point, your own name gives you anxiety from correcting people so much that you just accept whatever they call you. I’m glad he had the courage to make people get it right.”

Similarly, the Emmy Awardee actress Uzo Aduba from 'Orange Is the New Black' has been vocal about embracing her name. As per OkayAfrica, she explained her reason for the same: “If they can learn to say Tchaikovsky, Michelangelo, and Dostoyevsky, they can learn to say Uzoamaka.”