Jon Stewart’s replacement named for The Daily Show
On Monday, March 30, Comedy Central announced that Trevor Noah would succeed Jon Stewart as the host and anchor of the late-night satirical news program The Daily Show.
Noah, 31, was born and raised in Soweto, South Africa to a black African mother and white Swiss father. Noah was raised during apartheid, making his parents’ relationship illegal at the time of his birth.
Noah is also a polygot, speaking English, German, Xhosa, isiZulu, Sotho, and Afrikanns.
Noah is a well-known comedian in South Africa, and he toured internationally before landing appearances on The Tonight Show in 2012 and Late Show with David Letterman and 2013.
In his stand-up sets, Noah relies on observational comedy, peppered with dry commentary on social issues.
Noah became a recurring contributor on The Daily Show in late 2014. Many were surprised by the appointment of Noah to the show’s anchor, as he has only appeared on the show three times.
Shortly after the announcement, the Internet – in true Internet fashion – took to Noah’s Twitter account, which boasts more than two million followers. Scanning through years of Noah’s posts – often vetted in popular culture, politics, and issues of race – users found comments that were thought to be offensive or derisive to the Jewish population and to women.
The New York Times noted that Noah, just as so many other comedians, is often prone to “test the boundaries of what is socially permissible and what is in bad taste.”
Comedy Central stood behind its decision to place Noah at the helm of The Daily Show.
“Like many comedians, Trevor Noah pushes boundaries; he is provocative and spares no one, himself included,” said the network in a statement on the issue. “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.”
Noah also responded to the backlash, noting that to reduce his views “to a handful of jokes that didn’t land” cannot truly reflect his character or career.
-Compiled by Alyssa Ottema