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DAILY SHOW HOST Trevor Noah has apologised and defended himself against accusations of racism and insensitivity following jokes he made about the India-Pakistan conflict.
In a monologue on the satirical news programme, the South African comedian put on an Indian accent and portrayed a potential war between the two nations in the form of a Bollywood movie.
“If they did go to war it would probably be most entertaining war of all time,” Noah said on the Comedy Central programme
Tensions between the nuclear nations ratcheted in recent weeks following a suicide attack in the disputed Kashmir region that killed 40 Indian soldiers and the violence that followed.
The loss of life caused some to criticise Noah for making light of the situation and for promoting racial stereotypes while doing so.
Bollywood actress Swara Bhasker tweeted a clip of Noah’s monologue, saying that his stereotyping was “ignorant and racist” and that “Hindi is not gibberish”.
Indian comedian Mallika Dua also criticised the routine, labelling it as “shockingly unintelligent and tone-deaf”.
Swara Bhasker / Twitter
Swara Bhasker / Twitter / Twitter
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Indian writer Zainab Sikander also criticised Noah given a history of gun violence in his own family, tweeting:
It’s sad when someone who’s had a violent past mocks war through a Bollywood stereotype. @Trevornoah’s mother was shot in the head by her husband (Trevor’s stepfather). Imagine someone making fun of it with a Xhosa stereotype – the tribe his mum belongs to.
Responding to the criticism on Twitter yesterday, Noah said that people who had issues with his jokes needed to put them in perspective.
Despite his defence, Noah apologised for any hurt he caused and responded to Sikander, noting that he has himself joked about his mother’s shooting.
“Actually if you watch my stand up you’ll see that I did make jokes after my mother was shot in the head. As a comedian I use comedy to process pain and discomfort in my world but I am sorry that this hurt you and others, that’s not what I was trying to do,” he posted.
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Remember the days when when we never used to get offended with stuff like this? Stop playing the victim card. It’s only a bloody joke.
@Ciaran Fairley: Well they probably were offended but it was not reported, a bit like nazi times I suppose.
@Peter Hughes: jokes and nazis are the same thing!!! Good logic there smh
@Ciaran Fairley: Really? People used to get offended if a woman showed a bit of skin above her ankle. People got offended at J.M. Synge’s Playboy of the Western World. They got offended by Elvis. People have always been offended by stuff. The only real difference is that nowadays people get offended, comment on or get worked up because of someone else getting offended. Like you.
@Ciaran Fairley: No, but I remember the days when there was no internet so people had no means to broadcast their unhappiness with something.
@Rochelle: didn’t think you were that old tbh.
Learn something new every day, thanks to the internet.
An Irish fella was chatting up a French girl in a bar. He raised his glass and said “may you be heaven ten minutes before the devil knows your dead”. What’s that she asked?. That’s an authentic irish toast he replied. Oh well “here’s to bread, eggs and cinnamon” she said raising her glass. What’s that he asked. “That’s french toast”
Live by the sword, die by the sword.
@Toomasu Sumitsu: That’s true… He is one of the most racist comedian’s iv seen, he should be banned from TV
Na it’s only racist if your white
@Karllye kripton: how dare you deny him his white heritage! I’m outraged ;)
Funny joke to be fair, no harm done it was just a joke.people need to stop being offended over everything & nothing.
That’s karma, he’s quick to call every1 under the sun a racist. I dont believe comedians should be censored for jokes but then he’s not much of a comedian
His show basically revolves around finding anyone who’s said anything vaguely racist or ignorant and “jokingly” calling them out on it . This is karma.
Now if it was a joke about ireland
@Donie Daniel Courtney: tune into American tv on St Patrick’s weekend. Plenty of opportunities then.
Bring back Jon Stewart
@Wade Wilson: Jesus yes, he is badly missed
His foot is often a little too near his mouth young Trevor
He’d probably get away with it if there weren’t dozens getting killed every week
I lol’d
Trevor said in that clip that was posted that he even liked Bollywood, i like Trevor’s comedy approach and i don’t think he is racist and i’m glad he didn’t apologise.
have your say