UPDATE: Following the uproar over Trevor Noah's tweets, Comedy Central supported the embattled comic in a statement.
“Like many comedians, Trevor Noah pushes boundaries; he is provocative and spares no one, himself included," reps for Comedy Central said. "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.”
Noah also commented via his Twitter account.
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.
— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) March 31, 2015
EARLIER: Comedian Trevor Noah was named Jon Stewart's "Daily Show" successor on Monday, and mere hours later he was already embroiled in controversy over his Twitter history.
BuzzFeed Business editor Tom Gara pointed to Noah's past tweets, writing that the 31-year-old should've done a "quick Twitter cleanup" before getting the "Daily Show" job. Noah has tweeted a series of jokes about Jewish people and women since he joined Twitter back in 2009, many of which were called offensive, sexist and anti-Semitic.
Almost bumped a Jewish kid crossing the road. He didn't look b4 crossing but I still would hav felt so bad in my german car!
— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) September 18, 2009
South Africans know how to recycle like israel knows how to be peaceful.
— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) June 2, 2010
In Thailand hookers are so cheap, even cheaper than food. Tough choice between Big Mac or Quarter Poundher Deluxe.
— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) January 5, 2011
"Oh yeah the weekend. People are gonna get drunk & think that I'm sexy!" - fat chicks everywhere.
— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) October 14, 2011
A hot white woman with ass is like a unicorn. Even if you do see one, you'll probably never get to ride it.
— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) November 28, 2011
Messi gets the ball and the real players try foul him, but Messi doesn't go down easy, just like jewish chicks. #ElClasico
— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) January 25, 2012
"I actually prefer the women's league to the mens." - Nobody ever, about any sport. (except maybe, beach volleyball)
— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) January 29, 2012
I'm watching Olympic women's hockey. It's like lesbian porn. Without the porn. #InLove
— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) July 31, 2012
Originally when men proposed they went down on one knee so if the woman said no they were in the perfect uppercut position.
— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) December 20, 2012
So she gets fat? RT @missdanibagel: When a woman is loved correctly, she becomes 10 times the woman she was before
— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) July 18, 2014
The New York Times' Dave Itzkoff wrote that comedians do sometimes "distance themselves from older material as their views evolve and they become more accomplished," but it's unclear how or why Noah's Twitter feed was not "more carefully vetted."
On Tuesday morning, Noah tweeted and quickly deleted a comment that was presumed to be about the backlash.
Pretty quick tweet & delete from Trevor Noah pic.twitter.com/L2Yr8Dab74
— Anna Brand (@thebrandedgirl) March 31, 2015
Abraham H. Foxman, the ADL's national director, issued a statement on Noah's tweets and said: "We understand that comedians often use humor to poke fun at stereotypes and to push the envelope of political correctness, and it seems that many if not most of the tweets sent by Trevor Noah over the years fall into those categories. We hope he will not cross the line from legitimate satire into offensiveness with jokes calling up anti-Semitic stereotypes and misogyny. And we hope that he and Comedy Central will make a conscious effort to ensure that 'The Daily Show' remains funny and irreverent without trafficking in bigoted jokes at the expense of Jews, other minorities and women."
We wish @TrevorNoah success @TheDailyShow; hope he keeps it funny without engaging in jokes at the expense of Jews. http://t.co/bAGk8SykIb
— ADL News (@ADL_News) March 31, 2015