Trevor Noah, The Daily Show host.
Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema sent comedian and The Daily Show host Trevor Noah only love following a clip he shared of himself criticising the EFF leader.
In the clip, Noah compared Malema to American President Donald Trump.
Noah played a clip in which Malema said he did not know the future and was not calling for the slaughter of white people, “at least not for now” and said the EFF leader talked about the genocide like the remodelling of his kitchen.
He was highly criticised and accused of encouraging the white genocide narrative that some members of the right in America believed about South Africa.
“Julius is Donald Trump of Mzansi? Ya neh! Call it what you want but Trevor perpetuates the Afriforum fear-mongering that there’s white genocide in South Africa. The issue is the comparison in a non-existent genocide. I’m not talking about his satire, he can do that. But akere we catching feelings,” said Country Duty leader Tumi Sole.
The comedian was, however, defended by AfriForum’s Kallie Kriel and Helen Zille, among others, who said he had painted an accurate picture of what Malema had said.
Kriel said: “Trevor Noah wys die VSA wie Julius Malema werklik is. Nou is ‘n paar lefties kwaad vir Trevor oor hy die term ‘genocide’ gebruik het met verwysing na Julius se moordpraatjies. Julius mag na uitwissing van wittes verwys, maar skynbaar mag niemand hom kritiseer nie [Trevor Noah shows the US who Julius Malema really is. Now, a few lefties are angry with Trevor because he used the term ‘genocide’ with reference to Julius’s murder talk. Julius may refer to extinction of whites, but apparently no one may criticise him].
The video was later removed from The Daily Show’s social media platforms.
But the EFF leader said he would still support Noah despite the comments.
“We love Trevor Noah. He is our brother and he can say whatever he wants to say about me or the EFF. We wish him well and hope his joke was made genuinely. South Africans should continue to support him. Despite all the nonsense he said, he remains one of us.
“People say things to keep their jobs. We had that during the apartheid era. It’s not a new thing,” said the EFF leader.
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