Trevor Noah defends racist jokes on Indo-Pak conflict, fails miserably
What's the story
US comedian Trevor Noah cracked an insensitive joke about ongoing Indo-Pak tensions earlier this week. Facing flak from Indian Twitter users for equating war with entertainment, Noah attempted to apologize. While he wrote on Twitter he wasn't looking to hurt anyone and was sorry, his next tweet just made everything worse. Noah tweeted his jokes got more attention than the conflict itself, and many were displeased.
Context
Backstory: For Noah, India isn't anything more than Bollywood
Noah, the host of The Daily Show, commented on South Asia's simmering conflict but couldn't ditch the stereotypes. He said Indian soldiers would break into Bollywood-styled dance at the border while fighting against Pakistan. Subsequently, he was slammed for being insensitive and racist. Noah assumed India was all about Bollywood proving neither he nor the show's writers did any research on the issue.
Comedian
Noah likes to speak on issues without understanding them
Noah was raised under apartheid in South Africa and this made the outrage worse. He has been quite vocal about equal rights and extremely critical of President Donald Trump's decisions. His lack of empathy for citizens of the nuclear neighbors hurt even his fans. When a user commented that Noah, despite having violent past, mocked war, he wrote he used comedy to process pain.
Twitter Post
Noah says sorry for hurting people
Actually if you watch my stand up you'll see that I did make jokes after my mother was shot in the head. As a comedian I use comedy to process pain and discomfort in my world but I am sorry that this hurt you and others, that's not what I was trying to do. https://t.co/OuVnkHyIfG
— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) March 2, 2019
Tweet
Noah's apology was followed by a problematic tweet
However, his apology went down the drain when Noah questioned people's sensitivity. In the following tweet, he wrote: It's amazing to me that my joke about the conflict in India and Pakistan trended more than the story of the actual conflict itself. He added people get offended by jokes on an issue "more than the issue itself". Netizens quickly told him that's not true.
Reactions
That's not how you apologize: Twitter users slam Noah
Twitter users rushed to correct Noah. @siddharth3 tweeted: Mate, your racist joke was criticized by a small section of people on social media. Don't be under the impression that it mattered more than the conflict itself. And @sandygrains wrote: It's surprising to see that racist stereotypes aren't a problem for you when it comes to other cultures. While @GabbarSingh opined: You are no better than the fascist nuts you make fun of. Insensitive little prick.
Twitter Post
We are not idiots, writes another user
The joke might or might not have been offensive/funny, but this right here is a damn shitty thing to say. A joke didn’t trend more than conversations about the real conflict, we’re not absolute idiots. Which Trump supporter is tweeting for you man?
— Sucharita Tyagi (@Su4ita) March 3, 2019
Don’t do this Trevor 🤦🏽♀️
Opinion
Noah really needs to think before typing his tweets
India and Pakistan have fought three wars after partition and since February 14, the countries have been witnessing the worst escalation in years. That "woke" Noah didn't understand the gravity of the situation was proved when he made the jokes. But implying people spoke about his comments more than the conflict shows he doesn't wish to learn either. Dear "loved host", get off your high horse, will you?