Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the choice of Trevor Noah as the host of this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner:
On April 30, Comedy Central star Trevor Noah will host the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. It says a lot about those in the White House and the media that they would pick such a bigot.
On two occasions in the past few years, we contacted his bosses at Viacom (and ViacomCBS), and he initially tapped his brakes, only to start up again with his attacks on Catholics. We all know that if he had said anything like this about any other demographic group, he would not have been invited. In fact, he wouldn’t even have a job—he would have been fired long ago.
The following are quotes from the “Daily Show with Trevor Noah.”
- September 28, 2015—While commenting on the pope’s visit to America, Noah stated that the pope’s car was small and that “somebody’s compensating. I’m saying the pope has a huge c**k.”
- June 27, 2016—After Noah made some humorous and inoffensive jokes about the pope’s quips aboard the papal plane, he referred to the pontiff as that “mother******.”
- January 5, 2017—While commenting on a McDonald’s opening near the Vatican, Noah stated that “it makes a lot of sense when you think about it—both the Catholic Church and McDonald’s have served billions, they both make people feel guilty about themselves, and both are historically bad for children, so it makes sense (emphasis added).”
- March 23, 2017—While commenting on a three-year-old removing the pope’s hat, Noah stated that “I can see why this made the news—a child undressing a priest for a change.”
- September 5, 2018—While commenting on two Catholic priests performing lewd acts on each other, Noah stated, “that sounds like a good news story to me. Two adults having consensual sex, hallelujah! That’s pretty dope.” The comic went on to suggest that the pope was “pretty stoked” about the story and introduced a dubbed-over clip of the Holy Father saying, “You want to talk about a miracle? They are both over 18. Two adults, just a midday quickie in a PT cruiser. Thank you, Lord Jesus!”
- March 26, 2019—While commenting on the pope not wanting people to kiss his ring, Noah stated that “it’s a nice change of pace to see a priest not want to touch people.”
- May 29, 2019—While discussing an alleged Catholic group selling video games, Noah provided a platform to “Daily Show” correspondent Ronny Chieng to say that “I don’t think an institution known for luring children should put out a game to lure more children. Where do you catch the final Pokémon Jesus—Father Garrity’s tickle room?”
- June 11, 2019—While commenting on the Vatican’s teachings on gender ideology, Noah stated that “the Catholic Church thinks that if you’re a girl, you’re a girl forever, and if you’re a boy, they are going to f*** you.” He then made several jokes about “pedophile priests.”
- October 9, 2019—Noah questioned, “Why is the communion wafer so bland? Jesus was from the Middle East. How about a bowl of hummus to go with it? Body of Christ, tasty.”
- January 16, 2020—While commenting on the pope’s remarks on the issue of celibacy for priests, Noah mocked Pope Emeritus Benedict for publishing a book on celibacy stating that “the old pope wants the rules to stay the same. And I get that. I mean if I had been forced to be a virgin for 92 years, I would also be out there like, ‘guys come on! Those are the rules! We agreed!'”
- March 9, 2020—While commenting on Covid-19 restrictions, Noah stated that “it’s going to be hard to take Communion seriously when the priest has to throw wafers into people’s open mouths from across the room, the Body of Christ—from downtown!”
- April 13, 2020—While commenting on Covid-19 restrictions, Noah stated that Easter Sunday would be hard for many church-goers, “but for the Catholic Church, this is a good thing—keeping priests separate from the congregation might not be the worst idea.”
- May 18, 2020—While commenting on Covid-19 restrictions, Noah stated that a Detroit priest using a water gun to bless parishioners with holy water from a distance was “a great way for other Catholic priests to explain why they have a bunch of kid’s toys in their basements.”
- March 16, 2021—While commenting on the Jesuits providing reparations to African-Americans, Noah mocked the Sacrament of Baptism by calling it “waterboarding babies.” The comic went on to do a skit where he impersonates a priest offering money to a black man “for owning [his] great-grandfather.” Noah then takes on the role of the black man and replies that “I thought this was for you guys touching us when we were kids.”
When Obama was president, they never would have allowed a white racist to host this event.
Contact Steven Thomma, executive director, White House Correspondents’ Association: director@whca.press