My first question, upon hearing that Trevor Noah will be the new host of The Daily Show, was the same as everybody else’s: “Who?”
My second and more important question: “Is he as hilarious as Jon Stewart? Is that even possible?” Because Jon Stewart is the funniest human who has ever lived, and if you dare to disagree, you just don’t know what comedy is, and, and, and shut up!
Who is Trevor Noah? What are his comedic sensibilities? Thanks to the modern miracle of Twitter, we can get a taste:
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!
— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) September 18, 2009
South Africans know how to recycle like israel knows how to be peaceful.
— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) June 2, 2010
“Oh yeah the weekend. People are gonna get drunk & think that I’m sexy!” – fat chicks everywhere.
— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) October 14, 2011
A hot white woman with ass is like a unicorn. Even if you do see one, you’ll probably never get to ride it.
— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) November 28, 2011
Oh.
Despite the instant uproar since the announcement yesterday, Noah’s jokes about Jews, fat people, and anything else he wants to joke about aren’t inherently off-limits. If a joke is funny, it’s funny.
Granted, none of his jokes are, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t try. They’re jokes.
Besides, that was several years ago. Maybe he’s sharpened his wit since then? Maybe he’s been working on his material? Let’s look at Trevor Noah’s act, circa 2014:
…Yeah. Well.
As I see it, Trevor Noah’s only crime is that he’s not very funny. I see no reason why this should disqualify him from hosting The Daily Show.
Plus, he kinda looks like Obama. So leave him alone, you racists.