The Daily Show host Trevor Noah is in hot water after his jokes regarding the present India and Pakistan conflict landed flat.
During last night's episode of the political comedy show, Noah urged the two countries to refrain from going to war, before offering the thought that if they did, it would be "the most entertaining war of all time".
This was followed by clichéd observations of how the battle will be punctuated with the colour and dance choreography of Bollywood films.
Not surprisingly, Indians took to social media to label his jokes “offensive” and “racist.”
Indian journalist Sonal Kalra said Noah's jokes were not benign in this instance.
I’ve really always liked ur humour @Trevornoah. Really have. And we In India have a good sense of humour. This still crosses a line. We’ve lost our forces to terror attacks. Somehow it doesn’t sound as funny. #JustSaying #TheDailyShow pic.twitter.com/qknBmi6qfd
— Sonal Kalra 🇮🇳 (@sonalkalra) February 28, 2019
Writer Riddhi Chakraborty slammed Trevor Noah's remarks. In her social media post she said: “War is NOT a form of entertainment. You spend 80% of your time criticising Trump and the violence he could be stirring, but the possibility of India and Pakistan engaging in actual war is a filmy song and dance to you?
While Indian fan Tushita Sharma described his joke as in "bad taste."
With Noah’s clip not yet reaching viral status, it is rapidly spreading on social media with the outrage increasing.
Noah - who will perform in Abu Dhabi's du Forum on October 25 and 26 - has yet to make a comment on the controversial material, and it will be interesting to see if he does address the backlash when The Daily Show returns to air tonight US time (Saturday morning UAE time).
The joke marked the low point of what was a pretty successful week for Noah.
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His acclaimed Black Panther comic routine in the Oscars on February 25, in which he subtly trolled the audience by speaking in his native Xhosa language and deliberately providing the wrong translation, was acclaimed.
It went on to add further fire to the industry rumours that could be in the running to host the ceremony in 2020.
Trevor Noah performs at du Forum on October 25 and 26. Tickets begin from Dh300 at www.ticketmaster.ae