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The day after for Trevor Noah: controversial tweets turn internet on next ‘Daily Show’ host

In the 24 hours since being named the new host of “The Daily Show,” comedian Trevor Noah has come under scrutiny for old tweets, which his critics have labeled anti-Semitic, sexist and racist.
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March 31, 2015

In the 24 hours since being named the new host of “The Daily Show,” comedian Trevor Noah has come under scrutiny for old tweets, which his critics have labeled anti-Semitic, sexist and racist. The surprise decision to replace Jon Stewart with the mixed-race South African comedian has brought heightened scrutiny to his past work and his online presence, drawing criticism for his descriptions of Jews, women and even African-Americans. 

As of March 30, Comedy Central was not responding to requests for interviews, but Steve Albani, Comedy Central’s senior vice president for communications, sent out the following statement to media outlets, including the Journal: “Like many comedians, Trevor Noah pushes boundaries; he is provocative and spares no one, himself included. To judge him or his comedy based on a handful of jokes is unfair. Trevor is a talented comedian with a bright future at Comedy Central.” 

Although Noah, 31, has appeared on Comedy Central’s “Daily Show” as a contributor on only three occasions, he has toured the world as a stand-up comedian and has hosted two seasons of his own late-night show in South Africa. 

His comedy has, at times, focused on his not belonging to any racial, religious or ethnic category. Noah is the son of a South African mother and a Swiss father. In a 2014 interview with the Melbourne Herald Sun, Noah said of his mother, “My mum doesn’t fit into any category, she’s a Black South African woman who’s half Jewish. I’ve never known myself or my world to be contained within one specific set of parameters, so I’ve gone with the flow.” 

Noah has more than 2 million followers on Twitter, where he regularly posts satirical comments about pop culture, politics, sports and race in South Africa and the United States. 

Several of his comments have been seen as insensitive to Jewish people. In September 2009, he tweeted: “Almost bumped a Jewish kid crossing the road. He didn’t look b4 crossing but I still would hav felt so bad in my german car!” 

In 2012 he tweeted this, comparing soccer star Lionel Messi to Jewish women: “Messi gets the ball and the real players try [to] foul him, but Messi doesn’t go down easy, just like Jewish chicks.” 

The Journal’s requests for comment from Noah and Comedy Central’s head of development, Kent Alterman, have so far gone unanswered. 

His depictions of Israel also have come under scrutiny. In June 2010, Noah tweeted sarcastically: “South Africans know how to recycle like Israel knows how to be peaceful.” 

Since Noah was named as Stewart’s replacement, many Twitter users have expressed anger and unease with Noah’s posts. In particular, conservative commentators interpreted the tweets as a sign of liberal duplicity on television and in comedy.

Noah has also made comments about women and African-Americans some have described as sexist and racist. For example, in October 2011 he tweeted, “ ‘Oh yeah the weekend. People are gonna get drunk & think that I’m sexy!’ — fat chicks everywhere.” One month later, he tweeted, “A hot white woman with ass is like a unicorn. Even if you do see one, you’ll probably never get to ride it.”

In a widely circulated routine from the Apollo Theater in 2013, in which Noah described growing up in a biracial family in apartheid South Africa, he talked about learning to speak “Black American” as he prepared for his first trip to the United States, using as an example “fo shizzle my nizzle.” 

Some have commented that Noah’s tweets are less offensive than they are stale and juvenile, while others pointed to a growing problem on Twitter of people making satirical posts that are then interpreted as sincere and therefore bigoted.  

“The Daily Show” is Comedy Central’s most popular show, and some are questioning whether Noah was fully vetted prior to being offered the position of host. Early on March 31, Noah tweeted: “Twitter does not have enough characters to respond to all of the characters on Twitter.” The tweet was deleted soon after. 

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