A feud between the talk show host Trevor Noah and the French ambassador to the US has prompted a furious debate online.
During a monologue earlier this week, the host of The Daily Show made a joke about France’s World Cup victory. Alluding to the fact that 80% of the French team’s players were of African descent, he quipped, “Africa won the World Cup”.
“I get it, they have to say it’s the French team,” said Noah, who is black and South African. “But look at those guys. You don’t get that tan by hanging out in the South of France, my friends.”
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The French ambassador to the US didn’t see the funny side however, and said that the comedian was denying the players’ “Frenchness” by calling them African.
“This, even in jest, legitimises the ideology which claims whiteness as the only definition of being French,” Gérard Araud said in what the BBC describes as “a stern letter” to Noah.
“They were educated in France, they learned to play soccer in France, and they are French citizens. They are proud of their country, France.”
“Unlike the United States of America, France does not refer to its citizens based on their race, religion or origin. To us, there is no hyphenated identity. Roots are an individual reality. By calling them an African team, it seems you are denying their Frenchness,” Araud concluded.
In a response to the letter filmed in between takes of his TV show, Noah acknowledged that he understood the point the ambassador was attempting to make, but offered a different point of view as an African himself.
“Black people all over the world were celebrating the African-ness of the French players,” Noah explained. “Not in a negative way, but rather in a positive way, going 'look at these Africans who can become French.' It's a celebration of that achievement.”
He added that the players can be both French and African - not simply one or the other.
Following Noah’s response Araud tweeted that the argument was over and claimed that Noah was using the “argument of the white supremacist”.
Araud’s point about the far right, Noah argues, is missing vital context. According to Vox, the line - “these are African players” - “means something very different when it’s being said by a black comedian than by a racist French politician, and audiences are smart enough to understand why”.
But not everyone was convinced by this argument, with some citing French footballer Benjamin Mendy who had recently tweeted his support for the French ambassador’s comments.
Nicholas Batum a French basketball player in the NBA also explained that he identified as French first and foremost.
But others from across the globe supported Noah’s take arguing it showed nuance and supported immigration.
