Besides being famed for its narrative to get the truth out there, Hasan Minhaj’s Netflix show ‘Patriot Act‘ was known for hiring a lot of people of color.
From the show’s Indian-American host, to the writers and producers, the show was jam-packed with diversity. However, that didn’t improve working conditions according to former Patriot Act producer Nur Ibrahim Nasreen.
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She’s calling out the show’s toxic work culture now that the show has come to an end. The show ran between October 2018 – June 2020 and ended after six seasons. According to her tweets, she wonders if her ‘mental anguish’ was worth it, given the positive impact of the show. However, she says that she is proud of her work.
“The show was a necessary and important one, and I am proud of my work there to this day. I am also grateful for the opportunities it gave me.”
Nur Ibrahim Nasreen opened up about her experience being  ‘humiliated and gaslit, targeted and ignored’ on the show.
But women braver than me already spoke up. The show was a necessary and important one, and I am proud of my work there to this day. I am also grateful for the opportunities it gave me.
— nur nasreen (@Nuri_ibrahim) August 20, 2020
Between six seasons, the show won an Emmy and Peabody Award. Although she’s proud of her work Nur Ibrahim Nasreen does wish Patriot Act practiced what they preached.
“I wish we still had Patriot Act. I also wish they truly practiced the progressive ethos they cultivated on screen. Then they would really deserve all your love.”
But I wonder if it was worth the mental anguish I went through over my last few months there. I wish we still had Patriot Act. I also wish they truly practiced the progressive ethos they cultivated on screen. Then they would really deserve all your love.
— nur nasreen (@Nuri_ibrahim) August 20, 2020
This wouldn’t be the first time a show preaching diversity was called out for exploiting people of color. Previously Egyptian-American comedian Ramy Youssef was called out for exploiting female writers working on his Hulu series Ramy, another award-winning web-series.
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Ramy was also slammed for its stereotypical representation of Muslim women in a series centered around a millennial Muslim American man.
Recently, once-beloved television show host Ellen DeGeneres was under fire for the toxic work culture on her celebrity talk show The Ellen Show.
Aside from employees, many people, even fellow comedians came out with stories of how in real life, Ellen isn’t the persona she portrays on screen.
