While we’re not looking forward to the day when Jon Stewart officially steps down from The Daily Show, we’ve also been examining his successor, Trevor Noah, who got into some trouble back in March as people became aware of some not-so-funny, problematic old “jokes” of his on Twitter. He made a statement about the backlash shortly thereafter that made it seem like he didn’t understand why people were reacting the way they were. Now, it seems as though he’s finally starting to get it.
It’s easy not to take into account that Noah is from South Africa—in other words, not American—which means that his experience of race is not the same as someone who’s grown up black in the U.S. So, he may get certain things wrong when examined through our cultural lens, and many people thought he did after his set on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, which was the set that introduced him to the U.S. audience three years ago. Now, in a recent interview with GQ, he talks about the backlash he received over that set, as well as over the offensive tweets from that same year.
On his race-related material on The Tonight Show:
I look back on it and I go, ‘Had I known, I would’ve done it differently.’ Because when you come from a different place, you don’t realize the minefield you’re walking into. I do know this: I continued doing the Leno bit after I’d done it on Leno. But the way I did it slash would do it today is completely different. I’ve now learned how to be emotionally aware of how people may use your joke in a negative way. And that’s something that you’re always trying to navigate in comedy. You know, Dave Chappelle talked about it as well—if you’re not careful, someone can use your words to hurt somebody else.
On Those Tweets:
You show me half my jokes from even two years ago, three years ago—I hate them. Because you see, like, a young version of yourself. You’re like, ‘Why would you say that? You idiot! That makes no sense.’ Or, ‘That’s just stupid.’ Or, ‘Ahh, I can’t believe I said that about a woman.’ You should not like what you did back then, because that shows that you’ve grown. If you’re still doing it, that’s a scarier place to be. So that’s a great thing for me. When I get a chance to look back and go: ‘I was an idiot.’
And in this intriguing portion of the GQ interview, he talks about a harrowing experience from his childhood during which his mother was shot, and in which we see what may be the origin of Noah’s sense of humor:
“My mom got shot, shot once in the torso, and another bullet went in her head. She got shot in the head, you know?”
Two days after it happened, Noah was by her bedside, crying. His mother asked him to stop. “She says, ‘No, no. Please, look at the bright side. I’m still here. Just be grateful that I’m still here.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, but still.’ She says, ‘And on an even brighter side…look at my nose. I’ve got half a nose now. So now you’re officially the best-looking person in the family. There’s no contest.’ And then I start crying. Everyone’s laughing and crying. You know? But that’s who we were as people; that’s who we’ve always been.”
Jon Stewart didn’t spring forth fully-formed on The Daily Show as the Jon Stewart we currently know and love. His voice evolved, until he eventually became one of the most incisive, intelligent interviewers on television—satirical news show, or not—changing politics and media. Noah definitely has huge shoes to fill, but as long as he continues to demonstrate this kind of introspection, this willingness to admit when he’s wrong (rather than talk about how “the jokes don’t land”), and a desire to continually educate himself on his new home and its sociopolitical situations, he just may be exactly what The Daily Show needs. Let’s remember: he’s 31. He was 28 when he made those “jokes.” He was getting pelted by the entire Internet when he was still not used to having a huge platform. He can learn.
Noah also provides a non-American voice, much like UK-born John Oliver provides on his Last Week Tonight, that is able to satirize American news and culture from a different perspective.
And let’s not forget the importance of that voice belonging to a man of color. (I know, I know. I wanted Jessica Williams, too! But she didn’t want the job, so forget it already, OK? Elizabeth Warren isn’t running for President, either, so the world isn’t going to be as awesome as I’d like. I’ll live.)
Speaking of that voice belonging to a man of color, there’s one other interesting bit from the GQ interview, where Noah is asked specifically about backlash and runs through a list of recent events that elicited public outcry, which GQ accurately points out were all in relation to other black men and asks if it’s a coincidence:
That’s a good question. Because there probably is something that plays into that, you know? I’ve never considered it too much, but people are afraid of change.
“There probably is something that plays into that, you know?” Understatement of the Century. Yet for someone who’s relatively new to the US, the issue of race might not be considered the same way. Then again, this is the same guy who was “born a crime” by being born to a black mother and a white father during Apartheid. So, it’s not like he doesn’t understand how racism affects him – he just has a very different understanding of it. It’s a global perspective of race (and gender, and class, and religion, and…) that will be not only a refreshing change of pace for a show that has become an American staple, but will more accurately reflect our increasingly diverse and globally savvy American viewership.
(via Pajiba)
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