Trevor Noah has taken a lot of heat before he’s even taken over “The Daily Show,” but the current host has his replacement’s back.
“I can say this without hesitation: Trevor Noah will earn your trust and respect … or not,” Jon Stewart said of his successor on Monday. “Just as I earned your respect … or did not.”
Stewart went on to ask Comedy Central viewers to give Noah a second chance following the firestorm sparked by offensive tweets that have been dubbed “misogynistic” and “anti-Semitic.”
“I do hope you give him the opportunity to earn that trust and respect,” Stewart continued. “My experience with him is that he is an incredibly thoughtful and considerate and funny and smart individual.
“I think, you give him that time, and it’s going to be well worth it. I’m excited for where he’s going to take the thing.”
Noah, a 31-year-old South African, came under fire last week when fans found old tweets on his Twitter feed that many viewed as offensive towards women and Jewish people.
“South Africans know how to recycle like Israelis know how to be peaceful,” Noah said in one tweet from 2010.
In another Twitter post, he poked fun at overweight women: “Oh yea, the weekend. People are gonna get drunk & think that I’m sexy!-fat chicks everywhere.”
In an effort to quell the outrage, Noah tweeted on March 31: “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.”
Comedy Central has also stood by their rising star. “Like many comedians, Trevor Noah pushes boundaries; he is provocative and spares no one, himself included, the network told TheWrap last week. “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.”