Since the launch of ‘We’re Not Kidding’, Mehdi has sat down with some of the most multi-talented multi-hyphenates working in entertainment and media. But few wear as many caps as this week’s guest co-host, Yasmin Elhady — a Libyan-Egyptian-American standup comedian, lawyer, and co-host of the popular Hulu TV series ‘Muslim Matchmaker’. But before she was a famous TV host, Yasmin tells Mehdi about her experience as a Muslim immigrant growing up in Alabama and the bullying she encountered.
“I'm playing tag and Lauren goes, ‘Tag, you're it,’ and she pulls my hijab off,” Yasmin says.
“No! A hate crime in eighth grade,” Mehdi says.
“So I swing at her and I hit her in the left eye,” Yasmin says.
Mehdi and Yasmin also discuss the ways in which Muslim representation in American culture has gotten better over the last several decades, but how there’s still room for improvement. “We want to control our narrative dynamic. We want to be able to tell our own stories, and we want to do so with dignity and integrity and authenticity,” Yasmin says. As the co-host of the TV series ‘Muslim Matchmaker’, Yasmin tells Mehdi how important getting the opportunity to show a different side of Muslim life meant to her. “It's revolutionary in how it allows us to really be ourselves and to deal with the real issues in our community, but in a way that is accessible, joyful, playful even.”
Yasmin also explains to Mehdi why she chose the dual path of lawyer and comedian — “immigrants have to buy their passions” — how her matchmaking career began with finding a wife for her brother, why she thinks Colonel Gaddafi was the “gayest dictator who’s not gay” and whether Mehdi bears a resemblance to the 1980s-era McDonald’s mascot, The Hamburglar.
“I’m not a Hamburglar,” Mehdi says.
Watch yourself and be the judge!
Free subscribers get a 10-minute preview of the video above while Zeteo’s paid subscribers can watch it in full. As always, you can also listen wherever you get your podcasts.
