In response to the brewing controversy over previous Trevor Noah jokes about Jews and women, Comedy Central is encouraging fans to look at the whole picture.
“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.”
After Noah’s appointment as host of “The Daily Show” Monday, past jokes he’s made about Jews and women came to light, with many on social media attacking the South African comedian.
“South Africans know how to recycle like Israelis know how to be peaceful,” one tweet penned by the new “Daily Show” host said from 2010. Another read: “Messi gets the ball and the real players try to foul him, but Messi doesn’t go down easy, just like Jewish chicks.”
Noah also made questionable comments about overweight women: “Oh yea, the weekend. People are gonna get drunk & think that I’m sexy!-fat chicks everywhere.”
In response to many Twitter users criticizing him—including Roseanne Barr—Noah tweeted Tuesday morning and quickly deleted it.
“Twitter does not have enough characters to respond to all the characters on Twitter,” he said.
It’s not yet known when Jon Stewart will end his run as “Daily Show” host or when Noah will return.