UPDATE: “I Wasn’t Trying To Hurt Anyone”: Trevor Noah Addresses His Offensive Joke About Indigenous Women
UPDATE: Trevor Noah Responds To Calls For Australian Boycott Over Joke About Indigenous Women
ORIGINAL STORY: Trevor Noah’s forthcoming Australian tour has sparked some belated backlash, after footage of the South African comedian making an offensive joke about Aboriginal women was dredged up on Twitter.
A clip of the current Daily Show host’s 2013 stand-up special It’s My Culture shows him delivering a routine which centred around the physical appearance of Australian Aboriginal women, and ended with him mimicking the sound of a didgeridoo while pretending to administer oral sex.
“All women of every race can be beautiful,” his joke began. “And I know some of you are sitting there now going, ‘Oh Trevor, yeah, but I’ve never seen a beautiful Aborigine.’
“Yeah, but you know what you say? You say ‘yet’, that’s what you say; ‘yet’. Because you haven’t seen all of them, right?,” he continued.
“Plus it’s not always about looks, maybe Aborigine women do special things, maybe they’ll just like, jump on top of you,” he concluded, before making the didgeridoo noise while pretending to give a blowjob.
A clip of the routine was posted to Twitter by former NRL star Joe Williams, who didn’t hold back voicing his outrage.
“As a man of colour, you are usually in point with racism & divide. Here you are perpetrating & encouraging racial abuse!! #boycotttrevornoahinoz” he tweeted.
Hey @Trevornoah, your comments about Aboriginal @IndigenousX in this clip are utterly unacceptable! As a man of colour, you are usually in point with racism & divide – here you are perpetrating & encouraging racial abuse!! #boycotttrevornoahinoz https://t.co/UNXE8TlBtq RT
— Joe Williams – TEW (@joewilliams_tew) July 22, 2018
Other users quickly began echoing his disgust:
Personally I don’t care if Trevor Noah finds Aboriginal women hot or beautiful. I do care that we are the punchline.
— brokeblack mountain (@NayukaGorrie) July 22, 2018
@Trevornoah for such a social justice warrior, your race baiting isn’t smart or witty at all. It’s simply racist. Our beautiful black women shouldn’t be treated like the punchline of a joke. Congrats, you played yourself.
— Tysan Towney (@tysantowney) July 22, 2018
I can’t bring myself to watch that, I’m so tired of Aboriginal women being used as punchlines for cheap laughs from talentless hacks. We deserve so much better and I hope this guy falls and fades into obscurity, he doesn’t deserve a platform if he’s going to punch down like this
— Paz (@aninkyaffair) July 22, 2018
Noah will arrive in Australia next month for a five-date tour, hitting up venues in Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and Sydney.
In the meantime, the #boycotttrevornoahinoz hashtag appears to be gathering steam.
Check out what more Twitter users had to say, and watch Noah’s controversial joke for yourself, below.
https://youtu.be/jbtiqBh7IZQ?t=5411
I found everything that @Trevornoah said was disrespectful to all women..and very sleazy….WHAT A CREEP. If I was his mother, I would b disappointed. If he was my son, he would not be talking about women like that at all.#boycotttrevornoahinoz #boycotttrevornoahinoz
— WangkangurraDreaming (@Karencrombiemc1) July 22, 2018
This is so upsetting. I loved @Trevornoah and his work, until I saw this video. The whole skit wasn’t funny speaking about women in such a way, especially Aboriginal women #boycotttrevornoahinozhttps://t.co/tkuP20sH1A
— meriki (@MerikiKO) July 22, 2018
WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. #boycotttrevornoahinoz https://t.co/cheYbVxvWw
— SorryNotSorry (@sncrlynotsorry) July 22, 2018
#boycotttrevornoahinoz @Trevornoah. I felt so sick listening to the disgusting comments you made about #Aboriginalwomen and all women… I am an Aboriginal woman you #racist #sexist pig @IndigenousX @Kon__K https://t.co/rQGfTK7mmg
— Antoinette Braybrook AM. YES (@BraybrookA) July 22, 2018
Absolutely fucking disgraceful. #boycotttrevornoahinoz
— DMYXDA (@Dmixtaaa) July 22, 2018
https://twitter.com/nakkiahlui/status/1021198791553138688
https://twitter.com/alielmg88/status/1021164409136148481
Shame on you, @Trevornoah!! How dare you call the women of our families, our communities and me such words. Don’t make us the butt of your joke for some cheap laughs. An official apology is in order before you even step on our land. #BecauseofHerWeCan #boycotttrevornoahinoz
— Medika (@Deeks101) July 22, 2018
