A Comedy of Errors: Trevor Noah and the Late-Night Talk Show

For 16 years, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart has been at the helm of cutting-edge political criticism with a progressive slant. Mercilessly calling out racism, sexism, and hypocrisy in the government and in the media, The Daily Show has inspired a generation to advocate for equality. Stewart and his team of correspondents have covered significant social and political issues such as pay discrimination, police brutality, and marriage equality through in-depth investigations that, though humorous, ultimately informed its audience.
After the beloved host and fearless leader of this show announced he would be leaving, Comedy Central had the opportunity to act on the principles it had championed for so many years. But it didn’t.
Late-night talk shows are—and always have been—an almost exclusively men’s club. It seems as if, for the foreseeable future, it will stay that way. On March 30, Comedy Central announced Trevor Noah as the future host of The Daily Show after the departure of Jon Stewart. Noah is a 31-year-old from South Africa who has only been on the show three times after joining as a correspondent in December. Though Noah has proven himself to be an excellent stand-up comic, telling stories of his childhood during apartheid with a sardonic twist, he has not yet successfully transitioned into satirical news. His appearances were vaguely funny, but not particularly memorable. In his most recent appearance—just two weeks ago—Noah reported on the United States’ purchase of skilled foreign chess players. What should have been a single joke became an unnecessary five minute long segment that only served to remind the audience that Noah is a correspondent on the show.
This prompts the question: why would Comedy Central take a chance on a comedian with such little experience in satirical news when it had the opportunity to choose from a range of well-known and beloved female comedians? Jessica Williams, Kristen Schaal and Samantha Bee are all accomplished correspondents on The Daily Show. In 2012, Bee became the longest serving correspondent in the history of the show, but she was still passed over for the job.
Noah’s appointment is even more problematic if we examine his previous comedic style. Recently, he came under fire for a series of old tweets that many have called anti-Semitic and sexist. As recently as May 2014, Noah wrote, “Behind every successful rap billionaire is a double as rich Jewish man,” playing into a tired Jewish stereotype. In October 2011, Noah tweeted, “‘Oh yeah the weekend. People everywhere are gonna get drunk and think I’m sexy’ –fat chicks everywhere.”
Now that Noah’s offensive attitudes towards women have become public, his appointment is incredibly ironic given the fact that there was strong public support for a female host.
Some have argued that as a half-black, half-white, quarter-Jewish man from South Africa Noah will bring the diversity late night television so desperately needs. But diversity is more than just skin deep. In order to properly represent those who have been historically underrepresented, Noah must be capable of handling sensitive issues with tasteful humor. This is something that comes from an implicit understanding of today’s social hierarchies and how, as the future host of The Daily Show, he will have the capacity to affect public opinion.
Noah hasn’t even made his debut as the host of The Daily Show, and he has already drawn significant criticism—and for a good reason. Noah is inexperienced in The Daily Show’s style of comedy and has a sense of humor that seems incompatible with the show’s egalitarian stance. Nonetheless, Comedy Central stands by its decision and has come to Noah’s defense. “He’s everything that a Daily Show host should be,” Comedy Central chief, Michelle Ganeless said. “This is a very specific job with a very specific set of talents, and Trevor checks off all those boxes.” Unfortunately, it seems that none of those boxes are “tasteful humor” or “respect for women and minorities.”
Image Credit: Comedy Central; Wikimedia Commons, David Shankbone; Wikimedia Commons, Justin Hoch.