South African comedian and late night talk-show host, Trevor Noah has apologized for making jokes about the recent rise of tension between India and Pakistan.
In an episode of The Daily Show, Noah said that a war between the two [India and Pakistan] would be “the most entertaining”, adding that “it would also be the longest war of all time – another dance number!”
The host worsened the situation by saying that the war cry of the Indian soldiers would also be a musical. His offensive comments prompted outrage on Twitter, as users called it ‘racist’ and ‘stereotypical’.
After Twitter users accused him of mocking “war through a Bollywood stereotype,” Noah responded with an apology on Sunday. He said that using comedy was his way of processing “pain and discomfortâ€.
Read: Pakistani celebrities respond to Indian stars cheerleading war with maturity and restraint
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
However, his apology fall flat as later Noah defended his comments saying it was “amazing†how his joke trended more on social media than the actual conflict.
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. Sometimes it seems like people are more offended by the jokes comedians make about an issue than the issue itself.
— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) March 2, 2019
Pakistan Peoples Party chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also gave his two cents on the debate.
Make jokes not war? Much better plan. Sorry to hear about your mother. Traumatic for any son and never cool for anyone else to joke about. Peace from Pakistan.
— BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) March 2, 2019
Indian celebrities such as Swara Bhasker and Mallika Dua also called him out on his jokes.
Trevor, as an admirer of ur work pls let me say.. the problem was not the topic of ur joke but what u chose to say. It was lazy & patronising & reeking Of first world arrogance & colonial stereotypes.. Disappointing in a person as aware as u @Trevornoah @ComedyCentral https://t.co/9hCui11YeX
— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) March 3, 2019
https://twitter.com/MallikaDua/status/1101468957746225157?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1101468957746225157&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.in%2Fentry%2Ftrevor-noah-apologises-but-defends-comments-on-india-pakistan-tensions_in_5c7c97d3e4b0e5e313cc447f
