Trevor Noah garners some side eyes after ‘distasteful’ jokes at the Grammys

by Nomonde Simelane

The highly anticipated Grammy Awards, aka The Grammys, have come and gone, and as expected, there is much to talk about. First up, five-time host Trevor Noah has landed on the hot seat for his inability to read the room, as per the American viewers.

South African-born comedian and TV show host Trevor Noah is one of the few local talents who managed to seamlessly assimilate into the American audience, which could be attributed to his extensive political and general knowledge. His humour and witty nature that mzansi grew to know and love took the comedian to extreme heights in his career, and he has become a trusted host of the coveted Grammys, as this year marked his fifth consecutive showing as host.

With Trevor Noah centering a good chunk of his material around politics, and the current global political climate being nothing short of chaotic, the Grammy’s night was set to be an interesting one. As expected, a few of Trevor’s jokes did not land as expected, which has garnered an angry mob headed the mzansi born comedian’s way as viewers call him out for making distasteful jokes.

According to these viewers, Trevor’s jab at Columbia when he said “Grammy winner Shakira is in the house everybody! The greatest thing out of Colombia that isn’t a class A felony,” was below the belt, especially when considering the deep division and confusion that is currently plaguing the United States, and consequently the rest of the world.

That is not all, unfortunately for Trevor, as he went on to touch on the issue of illegal immigration that newly elected president Donald Trump has explicitly said will be dealt with accordingly in his effort to ‘Make America Great Again’. This time, he said, “We will be honouring the best in music as voted on by the 13 thousand members of the recording academy and 20 million illegal immigrants,” and this did not sit well with internet users, as well as the Rap Album of the Year’s latest recipient Doechi, who rolled her eyes after hearing the joke.

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