After 16 years, Jon Stewart announced his departure from the Daily Show, causing grief and mourning in fans of satirical news shows. The grief turned to confusion when his replacement was announced: a little-known South African comedian named Trevor Noah.
Because it’s the Internet and people are creepy and also a bit obsessive, they inevitably went into his Twitter history from three to four years ago, and unearthed some pretty problematic jokes.
From 2012: “Originally when men proposed they went down on one knee so if the woman said no they were in the perfect uppercut position.”
From last year: “Behind every successful Rap Billionaire is a double as rich Jewish man. #BeatsByDreidel”
Followed by more jokes about women and one making fun of intersex world champion runner, Caster Semaya.
I’ll start by saying that the jokes are obviously offensive and beyond that, they are not even funny or creative. Haha, women being beaten! Haha, Jews are all rich and greedy! Did we go back in time to 1960?
However, I can’t fully join in the hordes shaming him because of the Internet’s tendency to overdo just about everything. Either the mob leaves someone alone totally, or they go straight to death threats. There is no middle ground. I also can’t support the tendency to put every semi-celebrity under intense scrutiny and use every tiny bit of evidence against them.
Shame all you want. Talk about how you think Trevor Noah is unfunny. God knows I have, ad nauseum. But imagine how awful it would be if we were all judged by terrible things we did in the past. When I was 11 or 12, I dipped my sister’s toothbrush in the toilet and replaced all her perfume and body spray with toilet water. Should that affect my future employment? Of course not, because people grow up and change (I am toilet-based revenge free for approximately 4,700 days now). If Noah was to continue making woman-beating jokes on the Daily Show, then he should be judged a bit more harshly.
He’s not an anomaly either. Amid Justin Bieber’s PR troubles last summer, a video surfaced of him singing a parody of his own song, using racial slurs. Is Justin Bieber an idiot? Absolutely. Should he be shamed for the countless stupid things he’s done recently (peeing in a janitor’s bucket, speeding, etc.)? Yes. Should he have stuff he did as a stupid teenager used against him? I don’t think that’s fair, especially since what 15 year old has not used “edgy” humour? Besides, as I said, it’s not like there aren’t a billion other things you can make fun of him for. Just take a moment to think about what your life would be like if people used things you said and did in your adolescence against you now.
After women started making accusations against Jian Ghomeshi, a video, about 20 years old, surfaced of him talking about how he despises his fans and singing a video mocking them. Is it kind of upsetting to see that video if you’re a Ghomeshi fan? Sure. Is it proof that he’s not a great person? It could be. Is it proof that he’s a rapist? No. So why is it relevant?
After the Rob Ford crack scandal broke, the Globe and Mail released a story in May of 2013 detailing the Ford family’s history with drug dealing. To whit, Doug Ford dealt hashish for a bit in the 1980s, their sister Kathy was a bystander in several violent drug-related incidents, and Randy was connected to a drug-related kidnapping.
I remember, at the time, feeling incredulous. Really? Does Kathy’s history being around people with drugs have any bearing whatsoever on Rob Ford’s performance as mayor? At the time the scandal broke, every news outlet was trying to get in on the story, and the Globe’s article just kind of seemed like kicking Rob Ford when he was down. So Doug Ford dealt drugs 30 years ago. So what? It was a long time ago, and again, had nothing to do with Rob. If Rob dealt drugs, maybe it would be slightly more relevant.
And that’s the problem with a lot of these examples: it just seems like it’s piling on for no other reason than to be a mob. Shame Jian Ghomeshi for allegedly raping all those women. Mock Rob Ford for doing crack in his drunken stupors. Make fun of Justin Bieber for insulting Bill Clinton. But if it’s not relevant, leave the past in the past and let people make mistakes in peace.
