Hasan Minhaj Responds After Netflix Pulls Episode of His Show From Streaming in Saudi Arabia

Hasan Minhaj has officially responded after Netflix pulled an episode of his show Patriot Act from streaming in Saudi Arabia.

The episode in question was one where Minaj explored the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia, and specifically addressed the country’s handling of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

“Clearly, the best way to stop people from watching something is to ban it, make it trend online, and then leave it up on YouTube,” Minaj tweeted out, addressing the fact that the episode was pulled from Netflix in Saudia Arabia, but much of the segment was still available to stream on YouTube around the world.

Regarding their decision to remove the episode, Netflix released a statement that claimed they had little choice in the matter due to a legal filing from the country directly.

“We strongly support artistic freedom worldwide and only removed this episode in Saudi Arabia after we had received a valid legal request – and to comply with local law,” Netflix said in a statement.

One person who has been vocally critical of the move is Washington Post Global Opinions editor Karen Attiah, who worked closely with Khashoggi.

“[Hasan Minhaj of Patriot Act] has been a strong, honest and (funny) voice challenging Saudi Arabia + Mohammed bin Salman in the wake of [Khashoggi’s] murder. He brought awareness about Yemen,” she wrote in a tweet. “Quite outrageous that [Netflix] has pulled one of his episodes critical of Saudi Arabia.”

Attiah has since encouraged her followers to check out the segment, tweeting, “In solidarity with [Hasan Minhaj], [Patriot Act] and to honor the memory of [Jamal Khashoggi], everyone should watch and share Hasan’s brilliant Saudi Arabia episode, which the Saudi government banned.”

“It is still online on YouTube,” she also wrote in a post, including the link to the video.

Netflix users around the world in other areas are still able to stream the Saudi Arabia episode of Patriot Act with Hasan Minaj through the streaming service.