As a South African who’d lived in the United States for only four years, Noah was an unlikely choice to succeed Jon Stewart in 2015. He had “never played any of the premium clubs,” he said on his final show. Comedy Central was taking a chance on an unknown comic who had little in common with the well-regarded TV star he was replacing.
“I remember when I started the show, you know? There was so many people that hated me — genuinely hated me. They hated the idea, they hated how I looked, they hated my hair, they hated my accent, they hated everything about me, my point of view, everything. And then I look seven years later and now all those people still hate me, but — but for the right reasons, not because now they know me, they understand me.” — TREVOR NOAH
Instead of trying to fit into Stewart’s mold, Noah utilized his perspective as an outsider to satirize America and Americans, especially its political leaders and their parties. Among the lessons he learned as the “Daily Show” host, Noah said, are “context matters,” and “issues are real, but politics are just an invented way to solve those issues.”
“I, in the very beginning, also got sucked into the whole Republican, Democrat, this is the way it should be — yet, it is not actually the way it should be. It’s not even the way it is. It’s not a binary. There are not just two ways to solve any problem; there are not just two ways to be.” — TREVOR NOAH
Over the years, Noah’s “Daily Show” was home to a diverse array of correspondents, including the breakout stars Jaboukie Young-White, Jordan Klepper and Michelle Wolf. For his last episode, his current cast weighed in on his decision to leave.
“So you’re just leaving a job to do nothing? Wow, you really are half white.” — DULCÉ SLOAN
“Shut up! You are discovering your fulfillment? You sound like a white girl doing a semester abroad!” — DULCÉ SLOAN
“You know what we call a grown-ass man who doesn’t have a job? Unemployed!” — DULCÉ SLOAN
“I’ve been thinking about this — you don’t have to leave the country. You can just go over to ‘Good Morning America’ and host over there — the light-skinned man is in a lot of trouble.” — ROY WOOD JR.
