The newly tapped host has been criticised for controversial tweets from past that some feel are out of step with the tone of the satirical news program

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Trevor Noah – the surprise choice to succeed Jon Stewart as high-profile host of satirical news program The Daily Show – has come under fire for a series of controversial tweets he posted before his appointment.

The South African comedian – son of a Swiss-German father and half-Jewish South African mother – was criticised for having made tasteless jokes about Jews and women, raising questions among Daily Show fans about whether the comedian is right for the role.



Noah played into antisemitic tropes by tweeting that “behind every successful Rap Billionaire is a double as rich Jewish man”, and also made light of the Holocaust by posting:



Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) Almost bumped a Jewish kid crossing the road. He didn't look b4 crossing but I still would hav felt so bad in my german car!

In 2012 he tweeted about the soccer player Lionel Messi:

Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) Messi gets the ball and the real players try foul him, but Messi doesn't go down easy, just like jewish chicks. #ElClasico

And he also joked about domestic violence in the same year, posting:

Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) Originally when men proposed they went down on one knee so if the woman said no they were in the perfect uppercut position.

Noah responded on Tuesday, tweeting: “Twitter does not have enough characters to respond to all the characters on Twitter.” He later deleted the tweet.

The offending tweets, first highlighted by BuzzFeed’s Tom Gara, are mostly from 2011 and 2012. Gara said on Twitter: “I retweet not in anger. But it’s an impressive rise for a dude who three years ago was replying to Uberfacts tweets with dick jokes.”



Gara also dug up a stream of crude jokes about women.



Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) A hot white woman with ass is like a unicorn. Even if you do see one, you'll probably never get to ride it.

Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) So I must make my woman fear my penis? RT @UberFacts: The more you fear something, the bigger it appears.

The response to the revelations have been mixed, with some Daily Show viewers upset over at Comedy Central’s choice of replacement.

Others defended the comedian.



Ben Ratner (@BenMakesTV) Seriously? Already hate for @Trevornoah even though all his tweets were in the context of comedy?

Comedy Central did not respond for comment.