Noah and "The Daily Show"

I was disproportionately devastated to hear of Jon Stewart’s departure from “The Daily Show” this year. He has brought credibility, wonderful humor and a lively perspective to American and global politics in a way that is digestible and enjoyable for nearly any viewer. After he decided to leave the position, I have newly appreciated his tact, his compassion and raw talent for the job that he has consistently demonstrated for more than twenty years.

Last week, Comedy Central announced his successor, a young South African comedian, Trevor Noah. He is an unexpected pick because he is not yet very well known in America, and foreign anchors for nightly shows are exceedingly rare (nearly all current anchors are white males who hail from the Unites States.)

Within a day of the announcement, the Internet was in uproar. Of nearly 9,000 tweets on his account, a few jokes began circulating. Nearly all of them years old, they are crass and offensive. They are stupid, tasteless and naturally flopped as jokes. In no way do I endorse these jokes. But if a critic can only find flaws in six or seven of more than 8,000 tweets, I cannot comprehend a conclusion that his job offer ought to be rescinded, like many demanded.

That fraction is not enough of a sample on which one can justly base a critique of Noah. Besides a few segments on “The Daily Show” in recent months where viewers have responded largely positively, no one can yet judge how he will perform once he is the host.

The eruption occurred on such a large scale because fans of “The Daily Show” (as well as its critics) were eager to find out more about Mr. Noah and scrutinize his credentials. Many are highly anticipating his arrival as host. Because Mr. Stewart has succeeded so greatly as a host in transforming “The Daily Show” and the name of Comedy Central, many are anxious that Mr. Noah is sure to be less capable, or is bound to fall short.

This naturally produced an unfairly large reaction to anything negative. But these offensive jokes in a stream of largely harmless ones should not affect anyone. As a significant part of their job, successful comedians will and must push boundaries. Without this, there is no surprise and there is no humor. Occasionally, comedians slip a toe too far over the line. This, as long as it is not done often, is acceptable because of their profession.

In the past, many of these bad, offensive jokes took place in small comedy bars to small audiences with small attention spans. They naturally happen most often towards the beginning of a comedian’s career, before he or she has found their niche and stride, and in the past, they were forgotten easily. But in the age of Twitter, accountability for poor jokes has been transformed.

Unfortunately, a few recorded instances of Mr. Noah going too far has lost him the respect of many, before he has even had a chance to begin at “The Daily Show.” As consumers, we are prone to making judgments on an individual’s character based on selective reporting, and we are eager to judge as soon as possible. We want to be the first to predict a job well done, or a job destined for failure.

I do not know if Trevor Noah will continue Jon Stewart’s incredible legacy of success. I do not know if he will be funny or cruel, or if he will run the show into the ground. I do not know because there is no evidence that can lead us to that type of knowledge at this point. Give us the patience to wait, to give him a fair and open-minded chance, and then judge.