Overview
Trevor Noah’s Tweet Controversy refers to the online backlash toward a series of tweets discovered in South African comedian Trevor Noah’s Twitter history in late March 2015, following the announcement that he would become the new host of the satirical news program The Daily Show following Jon Stewart’s retirement. Many accused the jokes found in Noah’s feed as being offensive to jews, women and atheists, calling for Comedy Central to reconsider hiring Noah as the new host of The Daily Show.
Background
In December 2014, Noah began appearing as a recurring guest contributor on the Comedy Central satirical news program The Daily Show. On March 30th, 2015, the cable television network announced that Noah would replace host Jon Stewart following the comedian’s retirement from the show later that year. That evening, a series of tweets were discovered in Noah’s Twitter feed history that many argued were fat shaming, misogynistic and anti-Semitic (shown below).[1][2][3][4][8][9]
Notable Developments
Online Reaction
Following the discovery of the tweets on March 30th, many Twitter users criticized the tweets for being ignorant and dim-witted.
On March 31st, 2015, Redditor MoralZorel submitted several of Noah’s tweets mocking atheism and deceased author Christopher Hitchens to the /r/atheism[5] subreddit (shown below). The same day, Redditor El_Charly submitted a tweet by Noah mocking fat women to the /r/fatpeoplehate[6] subreddit.
Noah’s Response
On March 31st, 2015, Noah posted the tweet “Twitter does not have enough characters to respond to all the characters on Twitter.” The tweet was subsequently deleted.
Comedy Central’s Response
Also on March 31st, Comedy Central issued a statement defending Noah:
“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.”
News Media Coverage
In the coming days, several news site published articles about the tweet controversy, including BuzzFeed,[7] Entertainment Weekly,[10] The New York Times,[11] The Daily Dot,[12] E! Online,[13] The Guardian,[14] The Independent[15] and UpRoxx.[16]
Search Interest
Not available.
External References
[1]Twitter – @Trevornoah
[2]Twitter – @Trevornoah
[3]Twitter – @Trevornoah
[4]Twitter – @Trevornoah
[5]Reddit – New Daily Show host Trevor Noah isnt very atheist-friendly
[6]Reddit – Trevor Noah the shitlord we need
[7]BuzzFeed – People Are Mad About Trevor Noahs Tweets About Women and Jews
[8]Twitter – @Trevornoah
[9]Twitter – @Trevornoah
[10]Entertainment Weekly – Comedy Central defends Trevor Noah
[11]New York Times – Comedy Central Stands Behind Trevor Noah
[12]The Daily Dot – Controversial jokes plague incoming Daily Show host Trevor Noah
[13]E! Online – New Daily Show Host Trevor Noah Faces Backlash Over Controversial Tweets
[14]The Guardian – Daily Shows Trevor Noah under fire for Twitter jokes about Jews and women
[15]The Independent – Jon Stewarts replacement faces online criticism over anti-Semitic tweets
[16]UpRoxx – The Internet History Of New Daily Show Host Trevor Noah Is Unfortunate