Future Daily Show host Trevor Noah on his old, controversial jokes: 'I was an idiot'

(Image credit: Stringer/Getty Images)

published 21 July 2015

Replacing Jon Stewart as the host of The Daily Show was never going to be an easy job — but even by those elevated standards, Trevor Noah's impending takeover has been a little rocky. Shortly after Noah was announced as the show's new host, journalists combed his Twitter account and discovered old jokes that were deemed both offensive and unfunny, leading to widespread speculation over whether he was a suitable host for The Daily Show.

Addressing the controversy in a new GQ profile, Noah is blunt about his evolution as an artist. "That's a great thing for me," he says. "When I get a chance to look back and go: 'I was an idiot'":

"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." [GQ]

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Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.

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