Comedy Central is standing by Trevor Noah after he faced heavy criticism from the Internet community less than 24 hours after being named Jon Stewart’s replacement as host of “The Daily Show.”
Fans of the show scoured Noah’s Twitter to learn more about the comedian and found several “offensive” tweets he wrote about overweight women and Jews.
Noah responded to the backlash on Tuesday, via Twitter, saying: “To reduce my views to a handful of jokes that didn’t land is not a true reflection of my character, nor my evolution as a comedian.”
Comedy Central defended the comedian as well, saying, “Trevor Noah pushes boundaries; he is provocative and spares no one, himself included.
“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.”
Comedy Central announced Monday that the 31-year-old South African with three appearances on “The Daily Show” under his belt would take over the show for Stewart, who told told his audience earlier this year that he would be stepping down as host. Noah, who has had a Twitter account since 2009, has a little more than 2 million followers and usually uses Twitter to promote comedy shows or share random observations.
Many Twitter users, including the Anti-Defamation League, have taken to the platform to show their distaste for his tweets.
Despite the backlash, many have defended the comedian.
