Trevor Noah Responds to Kanye West’s Racial Slur: ‘Clearly Some People Graduate But We Still Stupid’
Comedian Trevor Noah responded to Kanye West’s since-deleted Instagram post prodding Noah for his comments on West’s actions toward Kim Kardashian.
First, Noah traced the evolving situation between the rapper — now known by the legal name Ye — his ex-wife Kim Kardashian and her new boyfriend Pete Davidson, from Ye sending Kim flowers to his new “Eazy” music video which shows Pete Davidson in danger. Then Noah personally related to the ongoing dialogue between the trio, recalling his experience with abuse and sharing that his mother was shot in the head by his stepfather, hinting that things could potentially get out of hand.
In response to Noah’s public expression of concern about ‘[Ye’s] harassment of Kim,’ West posted a screenshot of Trevor Noah’s google panel with the caption “All in together now… Koon baya my lord koon baya Koon baya my lord Koon baya Oooo’ lord Koon baya.”
Noah wrote a lengthy comment on West’s post, both admiring him and expressing concern for the potential harm he could bring Kim Kardashian and their children.
“There are few artists who have had more of an impact on me than you Ye. You took samples and turned them into symphonies,” Noah began. “You took your pain and through the wire turned it into performance perfection. I thought differently about how I spend my money because of you, I learned to protect my child-like creativity from grown thoughts because of you, shit I still smile every time I put on my seatbelt because of you.”
“You’re an indelible part of my life Ye. Which is why it breaks my heart to see you like this,” Noah continued. “I don’t care if you support Trump and I don’t care if you roast Pete. I do however care when I see you on a path that’s dangerously close to peril and pain.”
“Oh and as for Koon…clearly some people graduate but we still stupid,” Noah added. “Don’t ever forget, the biggest trick racists ever played on black people was teaching us to strip each other of our blackness whenever we disagree. Tricking us into dividing ourselves up into splinters so that we would never unite into a powerful rod. ”
You can watch the full video of Noah’s “Daily Show” segment, where he unpacks the story between Ye, Kardashian and Davidson, here.