“HuffPost Show” hosts Marc Lamont Hill and Roy Sekoff gave new “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah some advice on dealing with media backlash in wake of the controversy surrounding a few jokes he made on Twitter as early as 2011.
“The media cycle is so fast paced, and people pounce on stuff. There’s a pile on effect that happens, so you can go from being a star to the next day being a villain. Sometimes you gotta work through it, and tweet through it, and a wait a week or two, and people forget about it,” Hill told TheWrap in a new interview on the eve of the launch of his and Sekoff’s new Friday satirical news show. “I wouldn’t respond to every tweet, I wouldn’t try to double down on what you said, I would just keep moving forward and be the best person you can be.”
Sekoff — also a founding editor of the Huffington Post — thinks it’s hard for a comedian, in general, to avoid courting controversy, because it’s been said, “If your comedy and your humor is not offending somebody, you’re not doing it right.”
“I think there is a massive group out there that is just waiting to be offended, so I’m not going to be dictated by the offense trolls,” Sekoff said. “We sort of have developed this sort of Twitter stations of the cross, where you say something and then people get outraged, but they’re not really outraged.”
For his part, Noah has said his tweets that have been deemed “anti-Semitic” and “minsogynst” by critics are “not a true reflection” of his character.
“To reduce my views to a handful of jokes that didn’t land is not a true reflection of my character, nor my evolution as a comedian,” he tweeted on Tuesday.
Comedy Central also stood by their Jon Stewart replacement, noting the media and public’s reaction to his tweets has been “unfair.”
“Like many comedians, Trevor Noah pushes boundaries; he is provocative and spares no one, himself included,” the network told TheWrap Tuesday. “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.”
Watch the full “HuffPost Live” interview.
“The HuffPost Show” debuts at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m.PT on HuffingtonPost’s live stream.
Stay tuned for TheWrap’s exclusive look behind the scenes with hosts Sekoff and Hill.