Trevor Noah criticized by French Ambassador for making joke about African soccer players

Jul 19, 2018

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After Trevor Noah raised eyebrows by posting an Instagram pic of a boat full of African refugees handing the World Cup to France, he hit back following heavy criticism by many who accused him of making a racist joke, reports the Daily Mail.

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Following the World Cup win by the French team which included a majority of black players, Noah posted the photo to social media. But even though he didn’t include a caption on the photo, the French ambassador Gerard Araud took offense to the photo and sent Noah a strong letter reprimanding him.

“This, even in jest, legitimises the ideology which claims whiteness as the only definition of being French,” he said.

“Nothing could be less true,” he said nothing that only two men out of the 23-man team actually came from Africa.

Noah, a South African hit back defending his homeland.

“Why can’t they be both? Why is that duality only afforded to a select group of people. Why can’t they be African too? So, you can’t be French and African at the same time? Which I vehemently disagree with.”

“When I’m saying ‘African’ I’m not saying it to exclude them from their French-ness, I’m saying it to include them in my African-ness.”

Noah is not the one to shy from controversy.

Back in May, he compared Donald Trump to an African Dictator.

“I said from the very beginning that Donald Trump reminds me of an African dictator. And if you know anything about African dictators, the first thing you have to do is follow the money. And you follow the money with the people closest to them, family members, business associates…” Noah said.

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He added: “And I would have been disappointed had we not found out or had Michael Cohen not done this. I’m like, yes, this is following the script. This is what you were meant to be doing as the person who rolls with Donald Trump. You are always going to be finding a way to swindle cash.”

What do you think? Watch the response from Trevor Noah below.

The French ambassador to the U.S. @GerardAraud criticized Trevor for congratulating Africa on France’s World Cup victory. Trevor responds #BetweenTheScenes: pic.twitter.com/5nJklXRyY8

— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) July 19, 2018