Comedy Central's newly anointed The Daily Show host has his back against the wall as the Internet pounces on him after discovering a history of tweets accused of being anti-women and anti-Jew.

Just hours after South African comic Trevor Noah was announced as the successor to Jon Stewart, who is off to retirement, Twitter users have unearthed an entire host of jokes that critics say reek of bigotry. Noah, however, has taken to the same platform to defend himself, and Comedy Central, whose choice of Noah is deemed a bold and daring move, has his back.

"Like many comedians, Trevor Noah pushes boundaries; he is provocative and spares no one, himself included," said Comedy Central in a statement sent to The Hollywood Reporter. "To judge him or his comedy based on a handful of jokes is unfair. Trevor is a talented comedian with a bright future at Comedy Central."

The criticism came on Monday evening as netizens discovered several old tweets made by Noah regarding Jews and women. Among these comments that sparked the online backlash was a joke he made in 2011 that he attributed to "fat chicks everywhere." "Oh yeah, the weekend. People are gonna get drunk and think that I'm sexy!" he said.

Another joke referred to a "hot white woman" being like a unicorn. He said "even if you do see one, you'll probably never get to ride it." "Almost bumped a Jewish kid crossing the road. He didn't look before crossing but I still would have felt so bad in my German car!" Noah tweeted in 2009.


The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is one of Noah's more prominent detractors. The group has released a statement wishing Noah well in his new position at one of the most revered TV show jobs while saying that it doesn't want to hear any more of his politically incorrect jibes.

"We hope he will not cross the line from legitimate satire into offensiveness with jokes calling up anti-Semitic stereotypes and misogyny," says Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the ADL. "And we hope that he and Comedy Central will make a conscious effort to ensure that 'The Daily Show' remains funny and irreverent without trafficking in bigoted jokes at the expense of Jews, other minorities, and women."

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