Trevor Noah draws flak for saying India-Pakistan going to war would be ‘entertaining’

As many people around the world including Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, urged both leaders to say no to war, Noah thought if both the countries did go to war it would be the "most entertaining" war if they did.

Mimicking dance moves, the TV host took a jibe at the Indian army and remarked, “it would also be the longest war of all time — another dance number!”.

Even as tensions between India and Pakistan show signs of reducing, American talk show host and comedian Trevor Noah has drawn flak for saying the situation between the two nations was entertaining. As nations and prominent personalities across the world, including Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, urged both leaders of India and Pakistan to restore calm, Noah said that if the two nations did go to war it would be the “most entertaining”.

In an episode of The Daily Show, Noah mocked what he said would be the Indian soldiers’ war cry, and said even that would be a musical. The comedian said, “It would also be the longest war of all time — another dance number!”.

Watch the segment here:

Clip of the segment quickly went viral on Twitter and Instagram and people in India lashed out at Noah for his “insensitive and offensive remarks”.

@Trevornoah Not funny Trevor. I know It’s your job to see the lighter side of things, but war where lives are being lost on both sides and all you could think of was Bollywood songs, Indian accent and a dance off. Cliche!!

— Narendra (@NarendraMuppala) March 1, 2019

@Trevornoah Trevor noah always speaks about his difficult past of being a victim of Apartheid in South Africa. May be you want to be racist yourself to see how entertaining it would be. Sad that you’ve fallen of the grace big time by making insensitive comments on India-Pak.

— Uday (@Uday12258947) March 1, 2019

Dear @Trevornoah #IndiaPakistan conflict is not a #Bollywood dance-off just like fight against #Apartheid was not a rap battle. Be sensitive to other cultures. Dont be such a racist! And dont trivialise death of thousands of soldiers and civilians. Very disappointed with u.

— Geetika (@geetika_j) March 1, 2019

Insensitivity can’t be passed off as dark #humour. @Trevornoah this is in bad taste. War isn’t funny, and no amount of smart writing can justify this. #TrevorNoah https://t.co/lZkjkfrCYA

— Anindita Chatterjee (@CapitalistSage) March 1, 2019

@Trevornoah situations like these are to be taken seriously and joke should be not made out of these 44 soldiers died and just for your #TRP you are making jokes out of such tense situation. pic.twitter.com/yi2Xc74lkR

— Dubey Sachin (@ISachinDubey) March 1, 2019

@Trevornoah mocking the army of a country and seeing war as an entertainment soap is not funny at all. I guess you surely be laughing at the people of your own country who fought for it. Have shame!

— Himanshu Pushkar (@ProfessorCode) March 1, 2019

@Trevornoah I cannot understand how a South African who cries racism at White Supremacists can crack jokes about war, like a White Supremacist. There are people living in fear and soldiers risking their lives (in and for both countries), and you find it funny all the same.

— Shrinath Sharma (@sarchotic_shri) March 1, 2019

whoa! I’m actually shocked, someone would say this in 2019. The ignorance is palpable.

— Susy♌️ No Western Validation No Opinion (@SusyBangtans) March 1, 2019

@Trevornoah
Methinks there was a major ‘tremor’ in Trevor’s minor mind when he blabbered about Indo-Pak war. U totally lost it, mate, with your INSENSITIVE & BELOW THE BELT remarks. Gumption goes for a toss here.

— Ritesh Jaikar (@JaikarRitesh) March 1, 2019

@Trevornoah I’ve always been a fan of your work but this cheap mockery of a possible war that could lead millions of people to their deaths seems entertaining to you?
Are African and American lives all you care about?#TheDailyShow #disappointed #racist https://t.co/A4sQx9wyjY

— Vivek Jain (@VivekSJain) March 1, 2019

@Trevornoah so you’re a racist. The Indian partition was the deadliest in history with millions of people killed while traveling from one country to the other. The political tension b/w the two is still very serious and you want to laugh about a potential war? Is your brain ok?

— jk bus | rosival (@paradiseBTS__) March 1, 2019

Because only Murican wars are serious. Not us poor countries. How dare we steer away from our racist stereotype 😱

— Sejal Shrotri (@SejalShrotri) March 1, 2019

#TheDailyShow #TrevorNoah 2 things. 1. Its not funny. Its rather quite stupid. You are joking about a pretty serious ongoing situation. Fail to see the humor in it. 2. Regardless of your insensitivity, that’s just a bad imitation. FU dude. @Trevornoah https://t.co/XOZZznYDyF

— nishant suneja (@nsuneja) March 1, 2019

What @Trevornoah said about ‘India in a war’ during @TheDailyShow was highly objectionable. It would be better if he apologizes on air. Otherwise a racism charge will be formally reported. @DanAmira #TrevorNoah

— Soothsayer (@Soothsayer_Uno) March 1, 2019

Racist. Stereotypical. And downright offensive. It is true indeed, these days the moment you think someone is cool and wise, they do a @Trevornoah on you and flush down the entire goodwill! https://t.co/TJoxGrFd1c

— Ritesh Uttamchandani (@photowallah) March 1, 2019

Noah had earlier faced criticism for his views on the Pakistan general elections, which Imran Khan won. In a segment of his show, he compared Khan to Donald Trump. He was also criticised for his comments on the French football team that won the World Cup after he said that ‘Africa had won the World Cup’, and received an angry response from French ambassador Gérard Araud. Here’s how he responded to that:

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