Who is Trevor Noah? He's the South African comedian taking over The Daily Show from Jon Stewart, and you should give a second chance, says Stewart.
Noah got into some hot water after Comedy Central officially announced his title as incoming Daily Show host because of some tasteless tweets he had published six years ago. Last night, Stewart took time out of his show to defend his successor: "I know there was a large kerfuffle on Twitter. But can say this, I think, without hesitation: Trevor Noah will earn your trust and respect. Or not."
Stewart then offered himself as an example of a generally charming host who has sometimes failed: "Just as I earned your trust and respect. Or did not. Or, sometimes I earned it, and then lost is, and then kind of got it back. But then it was like 'Fuck that guy' and then it was like, 'That rally was so stupid, I hate him.'"
It's hard to think of a time when Stewart wasn't in our good graces, but what he's trying to say is that nobody's perfect. And for what it's worth, he gives Noah his seal of approval: "The only thing I would say is, I do hope, you give [Noah] an opportunity to earn that trust and respect, because my experience with him is that he is an incredibly thoughtful and considerate and funny and smart individual. And, man, I think you give him that time and it’s going to be well worth it."
Noah himself has said via Twitter that he doesn't want viewers to judge him for "jokes that didn't land." And we get that, because some of those jokes really sucked. And now with Stewart's benediction, it seems like maybe he's the right person to take on the best news show in the world. Or maybe not.
