After controversy, Hasan Minhaj kicks off tour in Milwaukee. We can't discuss his jokes.

Hasan Minhaj became one of the most popular and acclaimed comedians in America — including winning two Peabody Awards and being named to Time’s “100 Most Influential List” — by seemingly speaking truth to power.

Except he didn’t always speak the truth.

Exactly one week before kicking off his "Off With His Head" tour at Milwaukee's Riverside Theater Friday, the New Yorker published a profile in which Minhaj admitted some of the stories in his Peabody-winning comedy specials “Homecoming King” and “The King’s Jester” didn’t happen the way he said they did.

“Every story in my style is built around a seed of truth,” Minhaj told the New Yorker in his defense. “My comedy Arnold Palmer is 70% emotional truth — this happened — and then 30% hyperbole, exaggeration, fiction.”

Hyperbole, exaggeration and fiction often go hand in hand with comedy. And many of Minhaj's stories speak to very real concerns of racism.

But when Minhaj shared that horrifying story about his daughter being rushed to the hospital because of an anthrax scare during "The King's Jester"— with fear in his eyes, and a gasp from the audience — he clearly wasn't serving up satire or going for laughs. It was emotional.

But it was not the truth.

The manipulation — and, yes, the lies — could undermine legitimate stories of racism that happen to Indian Americans and Muslim Americans. It gives ammunition to white supremacist trolls to spew a toxic counternarrative.

Now Minhaj faces the most significant backlash of his career at arguably the most crucial moment of his career — he's reportedly a leading candidate to replace Trevor Noah as host of "The Daily Show."

What he says and does from here could be crucial — and Milwaukee fans catching the tour opener Friday would be the first ones to witness his response.

Except we can't say specifically what he said.

Posted all over the theater Friday — and added to the event page on the venue website — was this disclaimer:

"MINHAJ, Inc. own all rights in the content and materials, including any jokes and sketches (the "Materials"), delivered during his performance. The Materials may not be copied, translated, transmitted, displayed, distributed or reproduced verbatim (the "Use") in whole or in part, in any form, media, technology, now known or later developed. Any use of the materials without the express prior written consent of MINHAJ, Inc. is strictly prohibited and violators will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law."

It's practically verbatim the language Dave Chappelle has used for his Milwaukee shows, including the Summerfest show that I (barely) reviewed and one coming up at Fiserv Forum. Although at least Chappelle's team, unlike Minhaj's, issues such disclaimers with plenty of notice.

I understand and respect comedians demanding phones get sealed up so videos of jokes don't leak, as Minhaj did Friday. But for comics like Minhaj, who purport the value of free speech, to threaten legal action if, say, someone quotes one of his jokes about cryptocurrency on Instagram, is pretty rich.

Perhaps this application of legalese was an attempt to tamp down anything Minhaj said Friday about the controversy for fear that it would add fuel to the fire. But he didn't really talk about it at all.

Alluding to the heaviness of the week without commenting on it, Minhaj mentioned he was in Wisconsin on the weekend of his 38th birthday, drawing cheers before swiftly segueing to jokes about Zillow, artificial intelligence, gender differences in couple disputes, therapy and other topics.

The punchlines, again, I can't share. But I can tell you what Minhaj didn't do Friday. He didn't offer any harrowing, sympathy-baiting "personal" stories like from his first two specials that have gotten him in hot water.

Maybe he was going to, and in light of the New Yorker article, they were cut. His set Friday only lasted 50 minutes. If so, it's for the best, and hopefully that kind of material never makes it into his sets again. My hunch is it never will: Audiences won't trust what they're hearing, and criticism will be loud and swift. It's a no-win proposition.

Minhaj made it clear how much he values clout and influence in "The King's Jester" — and ultimately took some distrustful and potentially damaging measures to gain favor. Hopefully what he recognizes now, in the wake of reaction to his New Yorker confessions and from an enthusiastic near-capacity Milwaukee crowd in the 2,500-seat Riverside, is that he doesn't need deception to get it.

"Off With His Head" as presented Friday is by far his least personal set of material. That's not a criticism. Minhaj offered plenty of astute, smartly written observations, offered from a unique and valuable perspective. And they drew knowing laughs, his delivery swinging from stage-pacing exasperation to cutting deadpan, both equally effective.

Was there embellishment? Most certainly. I seriously doubt his stories about a therapy session, or being confronted by a critic, or watching a couple fight on the subway happened exactly as described. Though now we must ponder if they happened at all. Regardless, his demeanor for stories like these Friday was so exaggerated, his tone so satiric, no one could or would cry foul.

But this much is true: The large turnout and strong reception in Milwaukee Friday shows that Minhaj still has plenty of support. And if he learns from this mess, there is a chance that he will become a better comic.

3 takeaways from Hasan Minhaj's Milwaukee show

• Getting into the Riverside was a mess Friday, complicated by people needing to seal their phones, with long lines snaking around outside with unclear end points. Scheduled to start at 8 p.m., the show ended up starting at 8:30 with a 15-minute opening set, and, given Minhaj's short set, was over by 9:35.

• There were a couple of Milwaukee references added into the set, but since they were "materials" I don't know if I can mention them. I will say I was surprised Minhaj didn't talk about Giannis Antetokounmpo following his funny interview with the Milwaukee Bucks superstar on "The Daily Show" in February.

• If you missed out on the tour kickoff, you can still see Minhaj before he leaves Wisconsin. He'll perform at the Orpheum Theater in Madison Saturday.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Hasan Minhaj does first show after New Yorker controversy in Milwaukee