TREVOR Noah may be hosting The Daily Show now, but he isn’t immune to those nasty joke-stealing rumours coming back to haunt him, with a fresh one on top of the pile.
Now, he has been accused of stealing a joke from comedian Dave Chappelle.
The Hollywood Reporter website said Noah had done a stand-up set where he remixed a 1998 Chappelle joke.
Chappelle said: “Travelling has made me a racism connoisseur, if you will. You know, it’s different region to region. Anyone ever been down South? So you guys know what I’m talking about. The racism down there is just f***ing… it’s perfect.”
Noah’s version was: “Before I came to America, I thought I knew all kinds of racism. I’ve always considered myself something of a racism connoisseur. I appreciate the finer racism. Not to say I appreciate all racism, but a finer racism.”
Noah has been accused of stealing jokes in the past, most recently by Canadian comedian Russell Peters.
Peters, when asked about Noah getting The Daily Show job, said: “He’s also a thief... He’s stolen material from David Kau, from myself
... That’s not borrowing! You don’t borrow in this business. If you’re a comedian, that’s like stealing somebody’s underwear and putting it on. Why would you do that?”
In an interview with Mahala.co.za, Noah responded: “That’s his way of seeing it though. His idea is: If I do an idea first, like if I think of a Mandela joke first, I’m the Mandela guy. No, that’s not how comedy works… Nobody owns comedy, nobody owns a premise, an idea… Comedy is your personal take on a thing… ”