[dropcap]T[/dropcap]revor Noah, the South African comedian named to replace Jon Stewart as the new host of the late-night news parody, “The Daily Show” was feeling the heat on Twitter on Tuesday for past comments he made about Jews and women. The 31-year-old son of a black South African mother and a Swiss father who uses his mixed race in his comedy routine caused offence with tweets that people found anti-Semitic, sexist and crude.
But Comedy Central, the Viacom Inc-owned television network that airs “The Daily Show,” defended Noah, saying he is a talented comedian with a bright future with them.
“Like many comedians, Trevor Noah pushes boundaries; he is provocative and spares no one, himself included,” the network said in a statement. “To judge him or his comedy on a handful of jokes is unfair.”
Noah came under fire for jokes including a 2009 tweet that said, “Almost bumped a Jewish kid crossing the road. He didn`t look b4 crossing but I still would have felt so bad in my german car!”
In another tweet, he compared England`s Manchester United football team to a white girl: “Heavy upfront but lacking in the back.”
Noah`s tweets prompted comments questioning how wise a choice he is to succeed Stewart on “The Daily Show,” which averages slightly more than a million viewers each night.
“Far left #Daily Show hires a racist misogynist to replace Stewart,” tweeted @johncardillo.
American comedian Roseanne Barr urged Noah in a tweet to cease “sexist & anti semitic `humour` about jewish women & Israel.”
But another follower, Raoul Duke@Th3-Dreamer_, came to Noah`s defence.
“#TrevorNoah is a comedian. Comedians make offensive jokes. What do you expect them to make knock knock jokes. Get over yourselves #DailyShow.”
