Daily Show’s Trevor Noah Responds To Kanye West’s Racist Comments

In a now deleted post, Daily Show host Trevor Noah responded to Ye’s (formerly Kanye West) racist caption directed at him by replying in a comment on the post. The Internet has been abuzz with drama since Donda 2 rapper Ye’s harassment of his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian of Keeping Up with the Kardashians fame, has become increasingly disturbing. In a claymation music video for his new single “Eazy” with The Game, there are lyrics directed at Kim’s new boyfriend, Pete Davidson, and an act of violence is committed on screen against the claymation version of Davidson. 

Noah is known for not shying away from addressing political controversies, whether on his show or other late night programming, but Ye’s actions towards Kardashian and Davidson have struck a personal chord with the comedian. In a 10-minute long segment on The Daily Show,Noah traced the origins of the controversy from Ye sending a car full of flowers for Kim to his music video directed against Davidson. He also brought up how abuse was tolerated in his house growing up and warned of how it escalated to his mom being shot in the head by his stepfather. In response to Noah’s very public concern, Ye posted a screenshot of Noah on his Instagram with a caption that rephrased the lyrics to “Kumbaya” with a slur and a potentially derogatory reference to Noah’s South African heritage. 

Responding with compassion and dignity, Noah wrote a lengthy comment on Ye’s now-deleted post as reported by TheWrap. He began his comment by praising the rapper for his contributions to the musical genre, appreciating how he “took samples and turned them into symphonies.“ Then he moved into expressing genuine concern for the danger that Ye could potentially be bringing to Kim and their four children, and how his use of the slur indicates that “some people graduate but we still stupid.“ His full comment can be read below: 

“There are few artists who have had more of an impact on me than you Ye. You took samples and turned them into symphonies. You took your pain and through the wire turned it into performance perfection. I thought differently about how I spend my money because of you, I learned to protect my child-like creativity from grown thoughts because of you, shit I still smile every time I put on my seatbelt because of you. You’re an indelible part of my life Ye. Which is why it breaks my heart to see you like this. I don’t care if you support Trump and I don’t care if you roast Pete. I do however care when I see you on a path that’s dangerously close to peril and pain. Oh and as for Koon…clearly some people graduate but we still stupid. Don’t ever forget, the biggest trick racists ever played on black people was teaching us to strip each other of our blackness whenever we disagree. Tricking us into dividing ourselves up into splinters so that we would never unite into a powerful rod. ✊🏽”

Noah clearly has respect for Ye as a longtime fan who appears to have been impacted by the rapper’s music and creativity. His response to Ye’s racist comments shows genuine concern and urgency for Ye to seek the help he needs before the situation goes further into dangerous territory. There are certainly others who would have taken a different, more vengeful direction in their responses to Ye, but Noah took the opportunity to handle it with grace.

While the Internet seems to always be hyper-fixating on one drama or another, it’s important to continue conversations around mental health in media and recognize how the warning signs of harassment can escalate into violence. Some may argue that specific conversation airing publicly on a comedy news show isn’t the most effective, but the trending nature of the deleted Instagram post proves that it’s one way to get people’s attention. Since the post has been deleted, an ongoing dialogue on social media between Ye and Noah isn’t possible, but knowing Ye’s recent behavior, he will likely respond to Trevor Noah’s comment in another fashion.

Source: TheWrap 

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