All three networks on Wednesday rushed to defend Trevor Noah, the newly-announced Daily Show host who has been attacked for making anti-Jewish, anti-Israel comments. ABC's Good Morning America avoided quoting the tweets. Instead, George Stephanopoulos summarized that Noah is "in the hot seat within online critics saying some of his tweets are sexist and anti-Semitic."
Reporter David Wright only allowed that the liberal comedian "has some outraged with snarky tweets more than a year old about, quote, 'fat chicks' and Jews." What were those tweets? Wright didn't offer specifics. Instead, the journalist assured, "Daily Show correspondent Aasif Mandvi called the uproar much ado about nothing."
ABC News contributor Howard Bragman cheered, "It's a bump in a road, but he should have a long successful career at Comedy Central.
On Twitter, Noah mocked, "Behind every successful Rap Billionaire is a double as rich Jewish man." He has commented on people who "look Jewish" and joked that "blue-eyed people" have a "lower Jew tolerance." Noah has previously sneered, "South Africans know how to recycle like Israel knows how to be peaceful." The comic also derided America as having worse race relations than Apartheid South Africa.
On Tuesday's NBC Nightly News, Kevin Tibbles reported the story, but avoided the offending quotes. On Wednesday's Today, Craig Melvin managed, at least, to explain some of what Noah has said:
CRAIG MELVIN: Just a few hours after landing the job, some started sifting through his roughly 9,000 tweets and came across several eyebrow raising posts like “behind every successful rap billionaire is a double as rich Jewish man. #beatsbydreidel.” “Originally when men proposed they went down on one knee so if they said no, they were in the perfect upper cut position.” Sparking widespread outrage, many calling Noah a sexist and anti-Semite prompting the 31-year old to respond with a new tweet. “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.”
Melvin then defended the comic, justifying: "Can you imagine if Richard Pryor were a comedian during the Twitter age or the social media age?" He also described some of the tweets as "so controversial we can't even show them to you."
On CBS This Morning, Gayle King alerted that some "critics are calling [the comments] misogynistic and sexist." Reporter Vladimir Duthiers spun that Noah "pulls no punches in his standup" routine. The journalist summarized a tweet about "nearly running over a Jewish kid while driving his German car." Yet, Dutheirs didn't quote specifics.
Co-host Norah O'Donnell ended the segment by offering this defense from another liberal comedian:
NORAH O’DONNELL: I was looking at Trevor Noah’s twitter feed and I saw Seth MacFarlane say “hey press, corporate pollution, mass incarceration, animal abuse, these are things to be offended by. Not Trevor's Twitter feed.”
A transcript of the April 1 GMA segment is below:
7:13
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: We're going to turn now to the backlash against the new host of The Daily Show. Trevor Noah won't take the anchor deck for months but he's already in the hot seat within online critics saying some of his tweets are sexist and anti-Semitic. ABC's David Wright has the story.
DAVID WRIGHT: In 24 hours, he's gone from The Daily Show darling to internet lightning rod.
TREVOR NOAH: I was born a crime.
WRIGHT: Trevor Noah, the 31-year-old South African, who was just named Jon Stewart's heir apparent, pushes the boundaries with his humor.
NOAH: You would be super black. That sounds good to me. Super black.
WRIGHT: For instance, imagining Nelson Mandela getting drunk at his 91st birthday.
NOAH: Let me tell you a joke. Let me tell you a joke, Bill. I cannot have sexual relations with that woman. Ha. Ha. Ha.
WRIGHT: This morning, it's Noah's Twitter feed that has some outraged with snarky tweets more than a year old about, quote, "fat chicks" and Jews. Roseanne Barr treated a link asking does Trevor Noah have a Jewish problem? Overnight at a Linkedin event, Daily Show correspondent Aasif Mandvi called the uproar much ado about nothing.
ASSIF MANDVI: He was trying to be funny. You know, like I think the millennials understand this.
WRIGHT: The Anti-Defamation League is cutting Noah some slack, noting, "Mr. Noah seems more like an equal opportunity offender' than a cheap trick jokester or a raging bigot."
HOWARD BRAGMAN: It's a bump in a road but he should have a long successful career at Comedy Central.
WRIGHT: For now, Comedy Central is standing by its man. Noah tweeting overnight, "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." For Good Morning America, David Wright, ABC news, New York.
