Trevor Noah Speaks Out: Judge Me Not by My Old Failed Jokes

Less than 24 hours after controversy erupted over his tweet-jokes about Jewish people and fat women, incoming Daily Show host Trevor Noah took to the social medium to defend himself.

“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 wrote on Tuesday afternoon:

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.

— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) March 31, 2015

Noah was named as the successor to Jon Stewart on Monday morning, and was immediately hailed as a great choice due to his South African background. Less than 12 hours later, Twitter users began digging up some of his jokes about Jewish people, overweight women, the LGBT community, and the State of Israel.

While the uproar has been fierce, Noah has also received stern defenses from fellow comedians, Comedy Central, and even the Anti-Defamation League — all of whom seemed to suggest it best to judge Noah on his actual TV performance rather than failed jokes of the past.

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