“The Daily Show” has finally found its new host in comedian Trevor Noah. Since Jon Stewart announced in February that he’d be stepping down from the show after hosting for over 15 years, a handful of possible replacements have been considered. Speculations of potential new hosts had included Jason Jones, Samantha Bee, Tina Fey and Jessica Williams.
Unlike these prospects, Noah is a new name for many people as a recent addition to the Comedy Central show, having only joined in December 2014. Since then, he has appeared in only three segments with Stewart, one about Ebola, one about Boko Haram and one about a game of chess.
Beyond “The Daily Show,” Noah is also well-known in South Africa for hosting his own late-night talk show, “Tonight With Trevor Noah,” a handful of radio programs and the South African Music Awards.
The 31-year-old also headlined a Showtime stand-up special last year and was the first South African comedian to appear on “The Tonight Show” and “The Late Show with David Letterman.”
Though relatively unknown to a U.S. audience, Noah has already stirred up some controversy lately over questionable Twitter activity that some have dubbed “sexist,” “racist” and “anti-Semitic.”
One of his unearthed tweets from 2009 involves Noah joking about striking a “Jewish kid” with his “German car.” Last May, Noah joked that, “Behind every successful Rap Billionaire is a double as rich Jewish man.” Another tweet drew a sexual comparison between soccer player Lionel Messi and “Jewish chicks.”
Noah has also been called out for several other tweets insensitive toward women: “A hot white woman with ass is like a unicorn. Even if you do see one, you’ll probably never get to ride it.”
While some have brushed off concerns about the comedian, referring to the tweets as simply bad jokes, others have suggested his past remarks could present a problem. In fact, the debate over Noah has morphed from complaints about insensitive jokes from the past to a more important argument about whether he’s a good cultural fit for an American audience.
While most would agree that comedians should be awarded a wide berth—after all, sharp-edged humor normally draws a little blood—Noah won’t just be doing standup at some Brooklyn comedy club; he is taking over what’s become an influential American cultural franchise. Some have argued that his outsider perspective radically shifts the context of his jokes and the way they will likely be received.
For Noah’s part, he issued what’s been dubbed a “non-apology” via twitter that stated: “To reduce my views to a handful of jokes that didn’t land is not a true reflection of my character, nor my evolution as a comedian,” which he deleted shortly after issuing.
The power of satire is driven by the necessity that audiences be ‘in’ on the joke; if Noah is going to successfully satirize, the audience needs to feel that they’re on his side and not the object of his ridicule. Jon Stewart has mastered this rare ability and has also been dubbed more trusted and accurate than MSNBC, so Noah has got some big shoes to fill.
With Stewart expected to step down from his hosting gig sometime between July and the end of 2015, Pioneers won’t have to wait long to gauge Noah’s performance.
