South Africa can definitely call the world our stage, and be proud of celebrities who not only sprout in our nation, but are painting the world with our rainbow theme. Our Trevor Noah, a 31-year-old comedian, made his debut as an on-air contributor on America’s “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,” staged to offer his outsider’s perspective, as a biracial South African, in the United States.
Mr. Noah has gotten a huge and unexpected promotion. On Monday, Comedy Central announced that Mr. Noah would be the new host of “The Daily Show,” succeeding Mr. Stewart after he steps down later this year. This news has got many fans of Trevor happy and excited as well as infuriated critics alike, considering Trevor has only appeared on the show three times.
Mr. Stewart, 52, after a highly successful 16-year run that transformed the show into authoritative, satirical comedy on current events. The American show network’s selection of Mr. Noah comes less than two months after Mr. Stewart, revealed on Feb. 10 that he was leaving “The Daily Show”.
“You don’t believe it for the first few hours,” Mr. Noah said of learning about his new job. “You need a stiff drink, and then unfortunately you’re in a place where you can’t really get alcohol.” The appointment of Mr. Noah, a newcomer to American television, promises to add youthful vitality and international perspective to “The Daily Show.” It puts a nonwhite performer at the head of this flagship Comedy Central franchise, and one who comes with Mr. Stewart’s endorsement.
“I’m thrilled for the show and for Trevor,” Mr. Stewart said in a statement. “He’s a tremendous comic and talent that we’ve loved working with.” Mr. Stewart added that he “may rejoin as a correspondent just to be a part of it!!!”
In the news in America, many believe the decision invites questions about Mr. Noah’s experience and visibility (or lack thereof), and why the network did not choose a woman to crack the all-male club of late-night television hosts.
When Mr. Stewart announced his plans to depart “The Daily Show,” Ms. Ganeless said that Comedy Central quickly drew up “a short list” of possible successors “and Trevor checked off every box on that list and then some.”
“He brings such a unique worldview and a deep understanding of human nature, which makes his comedy so insightful,” she added. “He’s truly a student of the world.” Mr. Noah gave no formal auditions for the job, outside of his performances on “The Daily Show” and elsewhere.
During this time, fan support emerged for other longtime “Daily Show” cast members, including Samantha Bee, who joined in 2003 and is leaving to create a comedy news show for TBS.
A grass-roots campaign also coalesced around Jessica Williams, who has appeared on “The Daily Show” since 2012. However, she wrote on her Twitter account, “Thank you, but I am extremely under-qualified for the job!”
Mr. Noah said he expected to be criticized and second-guessed long before his first episode as host. “We live in a world where some people still say Beyoncé can’t sing,” he said. “Clearly I’m not immune to that.” Following up on that comment he made, twitter is still ablaze with comments from critics and lovers of Trevor Noah, in our feed below :
Tweets about #TrevorNoah #TrevorNoah racist
– Some excerpt from NewYorkTimes
