The good guy Trevor Noah has earned his place in our late-night routines
We don’t go to bed with just anybody. Trevor Noah earned his place in our late-night routines with his big-hearted feminism. Also, those eyes.
Smart, stylish and seriously funny, Trevor Noah is one of SA’S greatest exports, from his superstar incarnation under the spotlight to the quieter, more contemplative version behind the scenes. His X-factor (outside of undeniable talent and charisma): an ability to inspire optimism. It’s no surprise then, that this Joburg-born 33-year-old is winning awards, writing New York Times bestsellers ( Born a Crime; Spiegel & Grau; R458), headlining stand-up specials (‘Afraid of the Dark’), and making The Daily Show his very own with his witty and incisive take on political dramas.
Judging by your material, one could say you’re a feminist. Is that a fair assumption? Yeah, without a doubt. That’s because of my mom, aunt and grandma. Most of my school teachers were female. I grew up in a world where authority was female. [But] I never thought to call myself a feminist because of branding. I had this skewed idea of feminism: I thought it meant being a woman who hates men. When I read Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s We Should All Be Feminists (Harpercollins; R129), I was like, “Oh, this is what my mom taught me. This is simple. I don’t understand why everybody is not this.”
Two years into The Daily Show, how are you feeling? Post, let’s say, Donald Trump’s nomination for presidency, I found an easier way to synthesise my voice into the show.
How do you view the response to President Trump? Do you think it’s an overreaction? I don’t think it’s an overreaction. America is dealing with the effects of an underreaction to Donald Trump when he was running, and when he was Mr Saying-racist-Things-on-the-news.
If you could get an honest answer, what would you ask him? “How much money would you want [in order] to leave the presidency?” Because I think he would have a number, strangely enough. Then we’d know how much to launch the Kickstarter for.
Your interview style is quite unique – you have a level of empathy, even when you don’t agree with the person. How did you decide to go the humanity-first route? In Africa, the most important part of conversation is the greeting. In Zulu, there’s sawubona: I see you. When you see someone as a human being, you begin to understand most people are doing what they believe is right. I ask myself, “What if you were wrong? How would you want someone to engage with you?”
One example of this approach is your interview with Tomi Lahren [then a conservative host for Theblaze]. Some people were upset she was a guest. What’s your takeaway? I don’t think there’s anything I would have done differently. I invited Tomi Lahren because she was part of the white millennial vote that went with Donald Trump. Some people got stuck on “Why would you legitimise her?” Just because you don’t know about a thing in your bubble does not mean it’s not legitimate already.
You represent a point of view that hasn’t been seen on late night. How do you feel you’ve changed the dialogue? There’s an advantage in looking at the world and talking through ideas that aren’t talked about anywhere else in the same way. The misconception has been: Is it a black show or is it The Daily Show? Why can’t the show be hosted by a black person and have black people working on it? It doesn’t have to be either-or.
Was a diverse cast a mission, or did it just happen? If you have a room that has 12 of the same person, you’re bound to get 12 of the same jokes. I never thought of the diverse cast members as a mission. I just want original people – a person who is really funny and who makes me say, “I’ve never heard that before.”
What do you hope for America and yourself in the future? I hope America manages to steer itself away from partisanship and back to patriotism. And as long as I can make people laugh and feel better, I’m happy.
“When you see someone as a human being, you begin to understand most people are doing what they believe is right.”