Comedian Trevor Noah discussed his public spat with Kanye West at a taping of The Daily Show.
An audience member asked Trevor Noah why he was beefing with Kanye West. The Daily Show host pushed back at the notion of a beef, insisting he has no animosity for ‘Ye.
“I was never beefing with Kanye West; I was concerned about Kanye West,” Trevor Noah said. “And no, genuinely, I mean this. Because if somebody says to me, or to anyone, that they have a mental health issue, and they say to everyone that when they don’t take their medication, they’re unable to control themselves. And then everyone ignores when that person is having an episode and they haven’t taken their medication, and then they platform the person, and then they put them out, I sometimes think it’s a little s#####, to be honest with you.”
Trevor Noah recalled his experiences with his grandfather, who was bipolar. He explained why his Kanye West criticism was meant to voice concern for the controversial rapper’s well-being.
“I grew up loving Kanye,” Trevor Noah said. “There are a few Hip Hop artists who have shaped how I see music. The punchlines that he had in every single song, it was like listening to comedy. The sketches that he had – he loved standup comedy. His mom’s influence on him, his influence on Hip Hop culture, his influence on fashion, how he changed the paradigm. I grew up loving this man. I still love him, despite the s### that he talks. And so, for me, it’s not a beef.”
He continued, “When I grew up in South Africa, one thing that I loved was you grew up in a space where people would say … ‘We’re gonna tell you to your face.’ You know what I mean? We’re not gonna sit by and see you doing something and just act like, ‘Oh no, we didn’t see it.’ I sometimes feel like Americans enjoy doing that. They see it, they see it, they see it. And then something really bad happens and they’re like, ‘Aw, I wish we had spoken about it. I wish someone had said something.’”
Trevor Noah pointed out his actual beef was with how society handles ‘Ye. The comic expressed dissatisfaction with people continuing to put a microphone in Kanye West’s face instead of showing any discretion.
Listen to Trevor Noah’s entire speech below.