Stepping into the limelight with grace, Trevor Noah recently opened up about the tumultuous start to his tenure on The Daily Show.

On Steven Bartlett’s ‘The Diary of A CEO‘ podcast, Noah vividly recounted the hurdles he faced, from death threats to xenophobic backlash, that accompanied his transition into Jon Stewart’s former role. “It was absolutely terrible,” Noah admitted, reflecting on his initial reception.

“I quickly learned it wasn’t just a position… Jon Stewart to many people was the most trusted man in America, the voice of a generation.” For Noah, inheriting the show from Stewart meant more than just filling big shoes. It involved navigating the expectations of a nation that saw Stewart as a beacon of truth.

“The politicians who sort of look to him and they’re like ‘well what would Jon Stewart think’,” Noah pointed out, emphasizing the magnitude of the role he stepped into. He further shed light on the deeper issues that fueled the resistance he faced.

“I’m careful to say ‘it’s about race’ and I think it’s more all the things that make you different,” he explained. “Me being different in my colour to Jon Stewart probably makes a person feel like I’m more different to him when I’m sitting at the desk.”

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Surprisingly, some of the hostility came from unexpected quarters. The backlash was severe, escalating to the point where Noah received death threats and xenophobic messages. “People would just be like ‘go back to where you came from,'” he revealed. Yet, Noah turned this adversity into a source of strength.

“My gift and my curse was that I came from South Africa, so I know… like top-quality racism,” he joked, underlining his unique perspective on the hatred he encountered. Despite the overwhelming negativity, Noah credited his survival to the team around him.

“You cannot choose what’s going to happen to you, but you almost definitely can choose who you’re going to handle it with,” he reflected.

This philosophy shaped his approach to future endeavours: “I will take a sh*t job if I’m going to work with great people because a great job with the worst people is not going to feel great.”

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