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Trevor Noah

72 quotes

“So weird, how our prejudices have given everyone their lane. Middle Easterner does something, they're a terrorist. Black person does something, they're gang-related, they're a thug. But if a white guy walks into a church killing nine people there, what do they lead with on the news? "And today, in an isolated incident, a lone gunman walked into a church opening fire and killing nine people." It's always a lone gunman. "A lone gunman with no ties to society whatsoever". They always separate them as quickly as possible.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2015 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Trevor Noah : Lost in Translation (2015)
“We drink to enjoy. The Scottish drink to die.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Trevor Noah : Afraid of the Dark (2017)
“For me, Donald Trump is an emotional paradox, I'm not gonna lie. Logically, I can process him, emotionally, I struggle. On the one hand, I will admit, I wake up many days terrified at the notion that he's president of the most powerful nation in the world. But I also must admit, I wake up many days knowing he's gonna make me laugh. There's terror and there's joy and I don't know how to feel. You know what it feels like sometimes? It feels like there's a giant asteroid headed towards the earth, but it's shaped like a penis. Like, I think I'm gonna die, but I know I'm gonna laugh.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Trevor Noah : Son of Patricia (2018)
“You don't go to South Africa to escape racism. That's where you go to stock up. Are you kidding me, that's the one thing that reminds me of home. The racism out here.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Trevor Noah : Son of Patricia (2018)
“I spend most of my day screaming — and then over time I get tired and then when I'm tired, I start thinking of the jokes. … That's what I always loved about comedy, it is a way for us to just, you know, to numb the pain, to process what we're going through without feeling every single inkling of it.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Trevor Noah Was Low Key In Black Panther", The Late Show (June 2018)
“For any comedian, your life informs your point of view, the way you see the world. My comedy comes through the prism of race or class, because those are two worlds that collided for me growing up. And I guess that’s served me well, because those themes cross over countries and continents. We’re all still dealing with those issues today.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On how his upbringing informs his comedy in “Life’s Work: An Interview with Trevor Noah” in Harvard Business Review (September-October, 2018)
“I think the most important thing is to instantly give them a sense of who you are and how you feel in that moment. If a speaker is nervous and tells the audience that, people immediately contextualize it and respond accordingly. If a performer is in a good mood or feeling wild and crazy and says so, I’ve found, the crowd will be good at matching that energy. So for me, the rapport is built by a genuineness conveyed as quickly as possible.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On connecting with your audience in “Life’s Work: An Interview with Trevor Noah” in Harvard Business Review (September-October, 2018)
“The weird thing is, I always say to people, "When you're poor, being poor sucks. But being poor together makes it a lot better." Right? Because you're in it together. And it doesn't discount the fact that you don't have much. But then you start to enjoy the things that you do have. And that is each other. And so we laughed. We enjoyed ourselves. We had something that sometimes you don't have when you have too much. And that is the ability to focus on the human beings around you.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2019 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Reflection on living in Soweto, as quoted in The Path Made Clear: Discovering Your Life's Direction and Purpose (2019), p. 169
“Growing up as a young boy in Wakanda, I would see King T’Challa flying over our village, and he would remind me of a great Xhosa phrase: Abelungu abazi ubu ndiyaxoka, which means: ‘In times like these, we are stronger when we fight together than when we try to fight apart.’”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2019 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (February 24th, 2019)
“…I like to think that I am the product of a world of impossibilities. You know, my mother is where she should have never been. I think my mother made greater leaps than I have ever made. It's just that her leaps were made within her world and so maybe don't seem as grand. But I think my family, myself, my country, we come from a place where we have achieved the impossible…”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2019 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On his family history in “Trevor Noah's Lesson To Young Readers: It's Freeing To Define Yourself On Your Own Terms” in WBUR (June 4th, 2019)
“I always believe that funny is serious and serious is funny. You don’t really need a distinction between them. If I’m doing something on stage and it evokes an emotion, then I might show that emotion, but I also don’t believe in being a preacher. If you have a point, that’s a bonus. But the funny has to come first, otherwise you shouldn’t call yourself a comedian.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“(What book might people be surprised to find on your shelves?) Books about self-esteem and depression.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: interview (2016)
“I felt like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, it was, like, the weirdest thing ever. I just came for a tour, I just wanted some of the Wonka bars and then the next thing, I'm, like, managing the Oompa Loompas. I'm like "Aaah! I don't know how this works, this is crazy!”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2024 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On taking over The Daily Show from Jon Stewart, Jon Stewart coming back to The Daily Show! - Trevor Noah - Any Questions from Austin, TX! (2024)
“Laughter is strange in that if we think of all the emotions that we're able to express or feel, one of the things about laughter that's particularly interesting to me is it's one of the few emotions that robs your pain of its power.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2024 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Sex, Comedy and Context: A Live Conversation with Trevor Noah" on Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel, found on DeepCast (19 March 2024)
“I think sometimes it's hard for us to think about the possibility of a better future because we haven't lived in it.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2024 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: There's No I In Trevor Noah [VIDEO" on What Now? with Trevor Noah, found on DeepCast] (30 May 2024)
“I hear people all the time go like "I'm gonna put my head down and I'm gonna crush it!" Okay, alone? Good luck.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2024 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview with The Diary of a CEO - Trevor Noah: My Depression Was Linked To ADHD! Why I Left The Daily Show! (17 October 2024)
“[If] you read the news once a week, I promise you, you'll be as informed as somebody who's reading it every single day. You know why? 'Cause when you're reading it every day, you are caught in the cycle of it trying to discover what it doesn't know yet.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2024 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview with The Diary of a CEO - Trevor Noah: My Depression Was Linked To ADHD! Why I Left The Daily Show! (17 October 2024)
“And that is a problem I have with, like, a lot of American political spin -- they try and tell you that what you're seeing is not what you're seeing.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2024 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: We Treated President Biden Like S#*T! - Trevor Noah (2024)
“I think, again, as an old person, you should have a dignified end. You know? And I think we've robbed old people of that in society, y'know, like Capitalism and whatever. It's like, no, it's nice to, like, "You go, you've live your life, you've done your thing, and you can relax now.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2024 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: We Treated President Biden Like S#*T! - Trevor Noah (2024)
“Ben Carson: for people who like Donald Trump's ideas, but hate his charm and charisma. Ben Carson is like the drug free cocaine for people who don't wanna get high but just like snorting white powder.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2015 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 8 October 2015, Visible at 00:25 Ben Carson Blames the Victims, CC.com, 8 October 2015.
“Of course Ben Carson advisors can't make him smart, you can't change its brain. That's a job for a neurosurgeon. It's the same when your barber has a #### haircut.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2015 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: November 18th, 2015, Visible at 00:50 di Ben Carson's Public Breakup, CC.com, 18 November 2015.
“Donald Trump didn't invent racism. Trump didn't invent islamophobia. And he didn't invent violence. All he did was put his name on them like he does with everything else.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: March 16th, 2016, Visible at 06:00 Another Super Tuesday for Donald Trump, CC.com, 16 March 2016.
“Race jokes are kind of like orcas: powerful and entertaining, but you put them on display in the wrong environment and people are going to get hurt, and the joke might die. Like this one just did.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: April 12th, 2016, Visible in Bill de Blasio's Questionable Joke, CC.com, 12 April 2016.
“Hey, son, what the hell is with your haircut? Did you see a paintbrush and say "I want that dude's look!"?”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: April 13th, 2016, Visible at 1:30 North Korea's Letter to America, CC.com, 13 April 2016.
“The credits from the second Godfather are better than Godfather III.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: April 14th, 2016, Visible at 01:50 More Reasons to Hate Ted Cruz, CC.com, 14 April 2016.
“Let's be honest: in general men are stronger than women. That's not sexist, it's just true. If anyone is sexist, it's Nature. Yeah, Nature is the one who was hanging stuff out and was like: "Ok, men, you get the big muscles and you orgasm every time you have sex. Hell, sometimes you have an orgasm just by accident! That's how easy it's gonna be for you! And for the ladies... you get to put an entire human being out of your vagina. Have a good day.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: May 3rd, 2016, Visible al minuto 02:50 di Military Draft for Women, CC.com, 3 May 2016.
“In life only three things are certain: death, Adobe updates and taxes.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: May 13th, 2016 Visible at 00:05 #WeakDonald Trump Won't Release His Tax Returns, CC.com, 13 May 2016.
“ISIS without guns is just basically a blog.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: June 13th, 2016, Visible at 05:00 Trevor Reacts to the Orlando Shooting, CC.com, 13 June 2016.
“The Trump tape shouldn't offend you on behalf of females. It should offend you as a human being.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: October 11th, 2016, Visible at 05:50 Fallout from Donald Trump's P***ygate Scandal: The Daily Show, YouTube.com, 11 October 2016.
“Welcome to the 2016 presidential election. If you're on TV and you say something that offends the nation, you're gonna lose your job. But don't worry, you can still run for president.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: October 11th, 2016, Visible at 10:19 Fallout from Donald Trump's P***ygate Scandal: The Daily Show, YouTube.com, 11 October 2016.
“Juggling is such a white thing, as well, when you think about it. No, just the whole concept. You have so much stuff that, at some point, you are like: "I can't even hold all of this stuff! I'll have to throw some of it in the air!" That's probably how juggling started. Someone was like: "Wow, you have three things, but you only have two hands. Would you like to share something with me?" "No, no, I'll figure this out".”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: March 9th, 2017, Visible at 01:00 White People Are Having a Good Time in America, CC.com, 9 March 2017.
“He really is a TV president. [...] He loves the performance of doing things. But a lot of the time, nothing's actually being done. Essentially, Donald Trump wants to be president, but he doesn't want to do president.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: June 6th, 2017, Visible at 02:00 Trump Touts More Phony Accomplishments: The Daily Show, YouTube.com, 6 June 2017.
“At this point, it's not even a high-level controversy. This isn't House of Cards. Like, this isn't even Veep. It wouldn't even qualify for Blue's Clues.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: July 12th, 2017, Visible at 08:20 A Russian, an Email and an Idiot: Did Donald Trump Jr. Incriminate Himself?: The Daily Show, YouTube.com, 12 July 2017.
“Maybe we need to change who gets the Nobel Peace Prize, and when. Because so many people have won the prize and they've benefitted from all of its prestige, and then they've gone on to not be peaceful. Like, maybe we should only give the Nobel Peace Prize to people after their career is over and they've passed away, right? It's at the end. We can call it the "Rest in Peace Prize." Then we know you're not gonna surprise us, you're not gonna hurt anyone. Unless someone trips on your grave.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: September 13th, 2017, Visible at 05:10, Violent Buddhists Target Muslims in Myanmar: The Daily Show, YouTube.com, 13 September 2017.
“This idea that black people should be grateful is some sneaky-ass racism. Yeah, because when a white billionaire spends a year screaming that America is a disaster, he's in touch with the country. But when a black man kneels quietly, he should be grateful for the successes America has allowed him to have? [...] It almost feels like white people earn the money, but black people are given it.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: September 26th, 2017, Visible at 04:56, When Is the Right Time for Black People to Protest?: The Daily Show, YouTube.com, 26 September 2017.
“You still haven't told us the right way for black people to protest. I mean, we know: it's wrong to do it in the streets, it's wrong to do it in the tweets. You cannot do it on the field, you cannot do it if you've kneelt. And don't do it if you're rich, you ungrateful son of a bitch. Because there's one thing that's a fact, you cannot protest if you're black.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: September 26th, 2017, Visible at 04:56, When Is the Right Time for Black People to Protest?: The Daily Show, YouTube.com, 26 September 2017.
“This is what I find weird in these arguments, it's that people go "they're not African, they're French". Then I'm like, why can't they be both? Right? Why is that duality only afforded to a select group of people? Why can they not be African? So what they're arguing here is, in order to be French, you have to erase everything that is African?”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: July 19th, 2018, Visible at 04:04, Trevor Responds to Criticism from the French Ambassador - Between the Scenes | The Daily Show, YouTube.com, 19 July 2018.
“This is what I find interesting, is, like, when I read stories from Africa and when I watch what politicians say, especially in France, about African migrants: When they are unemployed, when they may commit a crime or when they're considered unsavory, it's the African immigrants. When their children go on to provide a world cup victory for France, we should only refer to them as French.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: July 19th, 2018, Visible at 05:032, Trevor Responds to Criticism from the French Ambassador - Between the Scenes | The Daily Show, YouTube.com, 19 July 2018.
“Boris Johnson looks like if Donald Trump drank.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2019 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: May 15th, 2019, Visible at 02:23, What in the World? | The Daily Show, YouTube.com, 15 May 2019.
“Wait, what? White supremacists aren't a threat because they can only fill a college football stadium? My man, those stadiums hold a hundred thousand people. We shouldn't have enough white supremacists to fill a golf cart, that's how many we should have. [...] White supremacists are like babies on a plane, even one is enough to ruin your day.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2019 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: August 14th, 2019, Visible at 01:03, Tucker Carlson Takes a Sudden Vacation Following His Hot Take on White Supremacy | The Daily Show, YouTube.com, 14 August 2019.
“I feel bad for anyone in private insurance who's scared of losing their job. But on the other hand, screw private insurance! I'm sorry, insurance companies are assholes.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2020 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: January 1st, 2020, Visible at 11:56, Getting to Know Elizabeth Warren | The Daily Show, YouTube.com, 1 January 2020.
“You know what the problem in America is? It's that white people call the police like they're asking for the manager. It's like, "this is unacceptable, I demand to see someone who might shoot you".”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2020 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: June 29th, 2020,Visible at 09.48, White People Unnecessarily Calling the Cops on Black People | The Daily Show, YouTube.com, 29 June 2020.
“The part where we say who's good and who's bad and who started-- let's-- let's step away from that and instead ask a different question: Instead, let's look at who's dead and who's alive this week.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2021 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: May 11, 2021, Visible at 4:40, Let’s Talk About the Israel-Palestine Conflict | The Daily Show, YouTube.com, 11 May 2021.
“And look, I don't know if I want to eat at a restaurant where everybody's armed. I mean, it's a fun gimmick, but you realize the second someone drops a plate, that place is turning into a Tarantino movie. I mean, it's still a restaurant, so you can't have bare feet, but otherwise, it's a Tarantino movie. But clearly, this person has an unhealthy fixation with guns.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2021 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: December 9, 2021, Visible at 07:03 Fringe-Watching: Lauren Boebert | The Daily Show, YouTube.com, 9 December 2021.
“The final lesson I learned at the show -- and I learned it not at the show, but because of the show and the news I was covering is -- please don't forget that the world is a friendlier place than the internet and the news will make you think?”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) first seen 2021 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: December 9, 2021, Visible at 08:05 What Did Trevor Learn from The Daily Show? | The Daily Show, YouTube.com, 9 December 2022.
“If you’re Native American and you pray to the wolves, you’re a savage. If you’re African and you pray to your ancestors, you’re a primitive. But when white people pray to a guy who turns water into wine, well, that’s just common sense.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In any society built on institutionalized racism, race-mixing doesn't merely challenge the system as unjust, it reveals the system as unsustainable and incoherent. Race-mixing proves that races can mix - and in a lot of cases, want to mix. Because a mixed person embodies that rebuke to the logic of the system, race-mixing becomes a crime worse than treason.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“That’s how a police state works - everyone thinks everyone else is the police.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There were so many perks to being ‘white’ in a black family, I can’t even front. I was having a great time. My own family basically did what the American justice system does: I was given more lenient treatment than the black kids.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Growing up the way I did, I learned how easy it is for white people to get comfortable with a system that awards them all the perks. I knew my cousins were getting beaten for things that I'd done, but I wasn't interested in changing my grandmother's perspective, because that would mean I'd get beaten, too. Why would I do that? So that I'd feel better? Being beaten didn't make me feel better. I had a choice. I could champion racial justice in our home, or I could enjoy granny's cookies. I went with the cookies.”
Trevor Noah (born 1984) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source