Just a day after Comedy Central announced Trevor Noah as Jon Stewart’s replacement on The Daily Show, people are already calling for him to be fired. Why? Because we live in the digital age, where our internet pasts haunt us forever, and some Twitter sleuths have uncovered some pretty damaging old tweets from Trevor’s account. Some of the tweets in question, which critics have labeled sexist and anti-Semitic, date as far back as 2009, while others are as recent as February 2015.
While it’s unclear whether or not Comedy Central was aware of these tweets before they hired him (the network has yet to release a statement), there’s an important lesson here: DELETE YOUR OLD, UNFUNNY TWEETS.
Update: MSNBC’s Anna Brand says Trevor Noah tweeted, then quickly deleted, a response to his critics this morning.
Update No. 2: Comedy Central has issued the following statement: “Like many comedians, Trevor Noah pushes boundaries; he is provocative and spares no one, himself included. To judge him or his comedy based on a handful of jokes is unfair. Trevor is a talented comedian with a bright future at Comedy Central.â€