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Trevor Noah shared the one question U.S. journalists should be asking themselves every day

"Ask yourself that question every day, because you have one of the most important roles in the world."

@birbigs/Twitter

Trevor Noah has gotten high praise for his closing remarks at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

Back in 2022, for the first time in six years, the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner (WHCD) was held with the president of the United States in attendance on April 30 in Washington, D.C. The WHCD has been a tradition in Washington for more than a century and for the past several decades it has taken the form of a comedic roast of both the government and the press. 2022's dinner was hosted by comedian and former host of "The Daily Show" Trevor Noah, who's known for his smart, witty commentary on social and political issues.

The "let's invite a comedian to publicly and viciously make fun of us for a couple of hours" idea may be a bit odd, but these events have proven quite popular over the years, with many viral moments (including President Obama's infamous GIF-worthy mic drop) coming from them.

The dinner opened with Noah joking about it being a superspreader event, earning some uncomfortable laughter, then the individual roasts commenced. Noah didn't hold back slamming people across the political and media spectrum—all in good fun, of course—including President Biden himself.

But it was Noah's closing remarks that earned the most attention. In his signature style , Noah managed to bring a serious and thoughtful element to a night of ribbing and laughter when he admonished the press to recognize both their freedom and their responsibility.

“If you ever begin to doubt your responsibilities, if you ever begin to doubt how meaningful it is, look no further than what’s happening in Ukraine," Noah said. "Look at what’s happening there. Journalists are risking and even losing their lives to show the world what is happening. You realize how amazing that is?

“In America, you have the right to seek the truth and speak the truth, even if it makes people in power uncomfortable. Even if it makes your viewers or readers uncomfortable. You understand how amazing that is?" he reiterated.

Noah pointed out that he had just stood there and made fun of the president of the United States and he was going to be fine. Then he contrasted that with the reality Russian journalists are living under Putin.

“Ask yourself this question," he said to the members of the media. "If Russian journalists who are losing their livelihoods … and their freedom for daring to report on what their own government is doing—If they had the freedom to write any words, to show any stories, or to ask any questions—if they had, basically, what you have—would they be using it in the same way that you do?

"Ask yourself that question every day," he said, "because you have one of the most important roles in the world."

Watch:

I\u2019ve always respected @Trevornoah so much but this closing speech from the White House correspondents\u2019 dinner is particularly spectacular.pic.twitter.com/k8GmBOAoYB
— Mike Birbiglia (@Mike Birbiglia) 1651380675

People had high praise for Noah's entire evening of hosting, but especially for his closing remarks. Russia's war on Ukraine has put a spotlight on many things we tend to take for granted, including the freedom of the press.

Journalists do play a vital role in society and it's one they must take seriously. To be fair, most journalists do feel the weight of their responsibility, but the corporatization of news media and a 24/7 news cycle has created a competitive landscape in which coverage is sometimes determined by what will drive traffic or viewers rather than on what's truly newsworthy or important. The demonization of news outlets by some has also created a hostile media environment, and news organizations have to resist the urge to kowtow to the loudest voices or inadvertently amplify the wrong things. Journalists often have to fight for the truth on multiple fronts, sometimes inside their own newsrooms.

Thank you, Trevor Noah, for reminding reporters that the fight is worth it and for using this opportunity to remind the press of its primary purpose with such a simple yet profound question.

Trevor Noah with an amazingly powerful close reminding journalists in the United States, some of whom seem to take for granted what they have, of how lucky they are to have the freedom to speak truth to power.pic.twitter.com/oIcdPyO2bD
— Sarah Reese Jones (@Sarah Reese Jones) 1651376844

I found myself cheering @Trevornoah's closing as though he could hear me. I felt foolish, but his words are that important. Sometimes speaking truth to power is telling people why it's their responsibility to speak truth to power. Thank you, Mr. Noah!https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1520598522000719874\u00a0\u2026
— Benjamin Gorman \ud83c\udf4e (@Benjamin Gorman \ud83c\udf4e) 1651445670

If you didn't actually listen to @Trevornoah's closing speech -- please do. He speaks not only to journalists, but to all of us.https://twitter.com/birbigs/status/1520626883616030720\u00a0\u2026
— \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 Ian Ricksecker \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udf0d (@\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 Ian Ricksecker \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udf0d) 1651466123

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Trevor Noah ended his final 'Daily Show' episode with a tearful tribute to Black women

"Who do you think has shaped me, nourished me, informed me?"

@TheDailyShow/Twitter

Trevor Noah says goodbye in his last episode of "The Daily Show."

Trevor Noah, who has spent the past seven years hosting "The Daily Show," has officially said goodbye to his late-night fans. While he could have chosen any note to leave on, he made his final words an emotional tribute to the Black women who have influenced him.

Since he took over the spot from Jon Stewart, Noah has made the show his own with a blend of quick-witted comedy and thoughtful commentary. Noah had big shoes to fill, but to his credit, he didn't try to cram his feet into them. He simply brought his own shoes and placed them right next to Stewart's, offering his own style of comedy and unique perspectives on the world night after night. Even in his "Between the Scenes" segments, where he chatted with the audience during commercial breaks, Noah frequently added insightful context to current issues.

In his final monologue, he credits those insights to his Black women mentors, from his own mother and grandmother to thought leaders he has had on his show to Black women in general. And it's quite telling that he managed to keep it together in his final show, right up until the point when he talked about these women.

"I've often been credited with having these grand ideas—people are like, 'Oh Trevor, you're so smart'—who do you think teaches me?" he said. "Who do you think has shaped me, nourished me, informed me?"

He credited the women close to him, but it wasn't until he talked about Black women in America specifically that he really began to get choked up.

"I always say, if you really want to learn about America, talk to Black women," he said. "Because unlike everybody else, Black women cannot afford to f*ck around and find out."

Watch:

\u201cTrevor gives thanks to the fans who supported him over the last seven years and the Black women who shaped his life.\u201d
— The Daily Show (@The Daily Show) 1670554860

Some of the women Noah mentioned by name responded with their personal stories of their interactions with Noah, and they offer a behind-the-scenes glimpse at who Noah is.

Roxane Gay shared that her book tour for "Hunger" had been "a shit show," with journalists having no idea how to talk about fatness. She had "prepared for the worst" when she arrived at "The Daily Show," but said Noah turned out to be "a dream."

"He came to the green room and asked what language he should use around fatness and I said we can be real," she wrote on Twitter. "The word fat is fine. It was clear he had actually read Hunger. Not every interviewer could say that.

"We had a wonderful, interesting, nuanced conversation," she continued. "He was smart and kind and funny. He didn’t condescend or treat me like I was repulsive. This shouldn’t be remarkable but it was. I will always be grateful and never forget the consideration."

\u201cBut once I was at the studio, Trevor Noah was a dream. He came to the green room and asked what language he should use around fatness and I said we can be real. The word fat is fine. It was clear he had actually read Hunger. Not every interviewer could say that.\u201d
— roxane gay (@roxane gay) 1670558340

Tressie McMillan Cottom, author, professor and sociologist, has been on "The Daily Show" several times, but she shared in a series of tweets that her first appearance came totally out of the blue.

"To this day, only two men have ever slid into my DMs. One was a foreign prince of dubious financial means. The other was Trevor Noah. He politely asked me to be on his show. In my DMs. Like he had to ask. Blew my mind.

I was an assistant professor at a state school with a wonky book about for-profit colleges out on a small press. Trevor had not just read it. When we met, I would learn that he had read almost all of my years-long blog. *HE* asked *me* to be on his show.

\u201cWhen you see how many Black women he elevated? That\u2019s him. \n\nThat\u2019s who he reads. \n\nHe is the opposite of Girl 6. \n\nBlack women are truly the foundation of his intellectual project.\u201d
— Tressie McMillan Cottom (@Tressie McMillan Cottom) 1670555201

I had the opposite of a marketing budget. I had the 'prayers and wishes' of publishing. Would I do The Daily Show??? I remember asking him backstage, 'why am I here??' With sincere incredulity he said, 'because you’re brilliant.' News to me.

It’s hard to overstate how much it meant to a writer and scholar without a serious elite pedigree or a major publisher to get a DM to be on The Daily Show. Trevor put together a team that reflected his own intellectual curiosity. If he booked you? He had read you.

When you see how many Black women he elevated? That’s him. That’s who he reads…Black women are truly the foundation of his intellectual project."

Walking the talk is always nice to see, and it's clear why Noah decided to close out his run on "The Daily Show" with the tribute he did.

Thank you, Trevor Noah. You will most definitely be missed.

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Pop Culture

Trevor Noah makes an astute observation about men and the 'right to sex' conversation

It's not really about sex at all.

cseeman licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Trevor Noah talked sex versus intimacy in a "Daily Show Between the Scenes" segment.

It started with a 2019 statistic showing nearly a third of men under 30 had not had sex in the previous year, which spurred a strange discussion about "incels" and debates over whether or not people—and men in particular—have a "right to sex."

You can read the original (widely panned) Twitter thread from Alexandra Hunt here, and an op-ed response ("Involuntary celibacy is a genuine problem, but a ‘right to sex’ is not the answer") from Guardian columnist Zoe Williams here, but the crux of the discussion is that some people seem very concerned that men who want to have sex aren't having it and someone or something must be to blame.

It's the kind of social discourse that seems to mark our time, with ample opportunity to scratch our heads, roll our eyes and mutter "WTF" under our breath. But Trevor Noah , as he so often does, has come riding in like a knight during a "Daily Show Between the Scenes" segment, elevating the conversation above the fray and tapping into a broader issue.

Noah explained his perspective that the issue isn't really that men aren't having sex, but rather that men are missing out on intimacy. He began by pointing out that "the expectation of sex was often set by a society controlled by men, and women were just subject to it," and that has set up some weird dynamics with men when it comes to sex.

"‘Men aren’t having the sex that they want to have.' Like, how much sex do they think they’re supposed to have?" Noah asks. "Let’s start there.

"And secondly, do they think they’re entitled to the sex?"

Both excellent questions.

"And third and most importantly for me—and I really feel like we don’t speak about this enough—is people don’t realize how often men are experiencing a lack of intimacy," he continued. "And the only place that they can experience that intimacy is through sex.

"We’ve created a society where men are so afraid to be vulnerable with each other; to be sensitive with each other; to care for each other; to love each other. You know even saying that, as a guy … you can’t just say, ‘I love you,’ you have to say, ‘I love you, dawg.’"

Noah points out that this is something women have done a much better job at than men—"being there for each other intimately but not necessarily sexually."

"I think we take for granted how much in society men who say sex is the thing they're not getting are actually struggling with a lack of companionship, of intimacy, of being in a space with a person where they're sharing everything from serotonin to endorphins to what humans need to feel," he said. "And I hope we can change that conversation just a little bit more. I hope we get to the place where guys go 'Oh, I actually didn't need the sex. I needed to be held, and I live in a society where it's hard to be held unless I'm having sex because as guys you can't just go to a guy and be like, 'Just hold me.'"

It's five minutes worth watching:

\u201cUnpacking the conversation around sex and a society where men are afraid to be vulnerable. #BetweenTheScenes\u201d
— The Daily Show (@The Daily Show) 1666220820

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Pop Culture

Trevor Noah announces he is leaving 'The Daily Show' in personal message to fans

Trevor had high expectations to meet and he exceeded them all.

The Daily Show/Trevor Noah/Twitter

Trevor Noah announces he's leaving "The Daily Show."

Soon, "The Daily Show" will have a new face with a different style of delivering the news in a way that takes a bit of the sting away. Comedian Trevor Noah delivered some unexpected news to his live studio audience, and I'm sure I'm not the only one having some big feelings about it. Noah announced that he will be leaving "The Daily Show" in pursuit of other things, including doing more standup.

When Noah first sat behind the familiar "Daily Show" desk, he had the blessing of the iconic host before him, Jon Stewart, who had hosted the show for more than a decade. "Daily Show" watchers quickly grew to enjoy Noah's unique perspective as a South African immigrant able to point out things about America and American politics from the viewpoint of an outsider looking in. His takes were witty, funny and laced with stories from his home country where he learned to speak multiple African languages and didn't hesitate to slip into one of them every now and again. Noah has been truly a gift of comedy and culture to "The Daily Show."

In his message to the audience, Noah explained that after seven years on the show, he felt it was the right time to move on. Noah told an audibly sad audience that hosting the show has been not only one of his greatest challenges but one of his greatest joys. He further explained that after spending two years in his apartment during the pandemic he realized he missed going to other countries and learning other languages.

But if you're one of those people who needs time to adjust to the news, no worries, he's not leaving right now. During the announcement he actually didn't give a hard date, but he assured the audience he would sit behind the famous desk a little longer. I'm hoping for another five years, but I'm sure he has a shorter goodbye in mind. Watch the announcement below.

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Pop Culture

Jon Stewart’s hilariously savage 3-minute rant against Chicago-style pizza never gets old

“It’s not pizza, it’s a casserole."

via Foix Productions/YouTube

Jon Stewart's rant against Chicago-style pizza.

In late 2013, the cities of New York and Chicago were embroiled in a feud over which one had the taller building. At the time, Chicago’s Willis Tower was the tallest skyscraper in the country, but it was challenged by the newly built One World Trade Center in Manhattan.

The One World Trade Center building was erected in the footprint of the World Trade Center.

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat determined that the One World Trade Center building was taller because it had a spire on top that was part of the building's permanent architecture. Whereas the Willis Building was topped with antennae deemed to be a nonpermanent part of the structure.

Native New Yorker Jon Stewart, who was the host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” at the time, took the victory as an opportunity to settle another beef between the cities, which one has better pizza. Is it New York’s thin-crust pizza or Chicago’s deep-dish?

The passionate rant about something seemingly trivial was a fantastic example of why Stewart was so great as host of “The Daily Show.”

“It’s not pizza, it’s a casserole,” Stewart says of Chicago’s deep-dish delight.

“I’m surprised you haven’t thought to complete your deep-dish pizza by putting some canned onion rings on top of it,” Stewart continued. “It’s a cornbread biscuit which you melted cheese on and then in defiance of man and God and all things holy, you poured uncooked marinara sauce atop the cheese. Atop. The cheese. On top!”

He went on to call the Windy City’s pie an “above-ground marinara swimming pool for rats.”

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Fox News cut away from the White House press conference, saying 'Whoa...not so fast'

Brian Stelter/Twitter

You know when the White House says something that's even too off the rails for Fox News to air, the Trump administration has flown way over the line.

Today, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany launched into a litany of conspiracy-laden allegations, accusing the Democrats of facilitating illegal voting and rigging the election to beat Donald Trump, a president that has never reached a 50% approval rating. A minute or so into her speech, Cavuto cut her off.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," he said. "I just think we have to be very clear...She's charging the other side as welcoming fraud and illegal voting. Unless she has more details to back that up, I can't in good countenance continue showing you this."

"I want to make sure that—maybe they do have something to back that up, but that's an explosive charge to make, that the other side is effectively rigging and cheating," Cavuto added. "If she does bring proof of that, of course, we'll take you back. So far, she started saying right at the outset, 'welcoming fraud, welcoming illegal voting.'"

Then he took a deep breath before saying, "Not so fast."

— (@)

It's a bit surprising that Cavuto seems so taken aback by what McEnany was saying, considering it's the same evidence-free accusations we've been hearing from Trump for months. Only now it's gone beyond Trump's divisive and delusional pre-election rhetoric and turned into a right-wing conspiracy theory only bested by QAnon.

The one thing Trump is really good at is creating his own version of reality, and like anyone with a narcissistic personality disorder, he's good at surrounding himself with people who enable him. Sycophants, loyalists, what have you.

We've seen this in the president's criticisms of Fox News itself when it isn't kowtowing to him and praising him. And where he goes, his followers follow. After Cavuto cut away from the press conference this afternoon, Trump supporters announced their departures en masse. If Fox News isn't going to give them the highly biased version of the news that they crave, they'll keep going farther and farther toward the fringes, to farther-right outlets like Breitbart and Newsmax and OANN, where objective truth goes to die.

Fox News lovers might still find what they're looking for in the opinion shows, which still seem to be in the business of coddling the president. While Fox News does exhibit some integrity in its actual news shows, its talk host shows are something else entirely. Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham and Lou Dobbs will carry Trump's water forever if they think it'll keep viewers viewing.

But there's something those folks really should watch. While Trump and much of the GOP are currently engaged in denying the results of a democratic election, alleging fraud and cheating, saying that Democrats are trying to rig and steal the election...they railed on the Democrats for doing the same thing in the 2018 midterms.

Kayleigh McEnany herself kicks off the video saying, "Democrats are being sore losers. They refuse to acknowledge they lost the election, so what do they do? They cry malfeasance, wrongdoing, criminality, fraud."

Laura Ingraham comes next with, "Democrats, moreso than Republicans, seem to have a problem conceding defeat. Either the election system broke down, or some mystery votes are hiding somewhere..."

Oh. Huh.

Just watch and see who it sounds like they're describing now:

Anyway, Fox News, like all media outlets, get to choose what they air and what they don't. No one is entitled to a platform, not even the president of the United States, when they are lying, making things up, or talking about half of America of being complicit in committing fraud.

We knew 2020 was weird. Just didn't know it would be Fox-News-cutting-off-the-president's-spokesperson weird. Let's just get this nightmare over with so we can move toward 2021 with our new, democratically elected president.

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Trevor Noah sheds light on the absurdity of QAnon as only Trevor Noah can

The Daily Show/Facebook

If you haven't heard of QAnon by now, consider yourself fortunate. If you've heard of it, but are confused about what it is and how it came about, it's probably time to learn. Any hopes that the rational among us had for it to die out on the fringes of the internet appears to be gone as the cult-like conspiracy theory has seeped into the mainstream, which means we can't ignore it like we wish we could.

We also can't just laugh it off like we wish we could, no matter how absurd and insane it is. It truly would be laughable if it hadn't resulted in real people being harmed and the FBI calling it a domestic terrorism threat. And I don't know anyone who can approach a laughable-yet-deadly-serious subject like Trevor Noah. In a new video, Noah gives QAnon the comedic treatment that it deserves while also managing to convey the rather terrifying reality of its existence and influence.

Noah describes QAnon as a "political cult built around a conspiracy theory and then crossed with a big book of word search puzzles." That pretty much nails it. And now we have a bunch of these folks running for government office, and some of them even winning. If that's not enough to scare people into reality, I don't know what will be.

I know we're all having to jump through some mental hoops to try to makes sense of the world we're currently living in, but this is ridiculous. I could rationally explain why QAnon is not legit, but it would be like explaining to someone that the moon isn't made of cheese. The claim itself is so beyond absurd, it's not even worth entertaining. And it wouldn't do any good anyway. As Noah said, "Don't be looking for logic here. That's not how cults work. Cults don't follow logic." Maddening, but true. I've tried, only to be accused of covering for pedophiles or being part of the cabal myself. Good times.

What else have you got up your sleeve, 2020? You know what, nevermind. I truly don't want to know.

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daily show

Trevor Noah shared the one question U.S. journalists should be asking themselves every day

"Ask yourself that question every day, because you have one of the most important roles in the world."

Trevor Noah ended his final 'Daily Show' episode with a tearful tribute to Black women

"Who do you think has shaped me, nourished me, informed me?"

Trevor Noah makes an astute observation about men and the 'right to sex' conversation

It's not really about sex at all.

Trevor Noah announces he is leaving 'The Daily Show' in personal message to fans

Trevor had high expectations to meet and he exceeded them all.

Jon Stewart’s hilariously savage 3-minute rant against Chicago-style pizza never gets old

“It’s not pizza, it’s a casserole."

Fox News cut away from the White House press conference, saying 'Whoa...not so fast'

Trevor Noah sheds light on the absurdity of QAnon as only Trevor Noah can

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