Trevor Noah apologised for making a Bollywood joke about the India-Pakistan conflict

[loyola llothta]

• Comedian Trevor Noah apologised for making a Bollywood joke about the conflict between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan that could have ended in war.
• Noah said: "If they did go to war it would probably be most entertaining war of all time," and pretended to be an Indian solider singing and dancing.
• Noah later apologised, but pointed out that his joke "trended more than the story of the actual conflict itself."
• Tensions rose sharply between India and Pakistan, which have fought multiple wars, leaving world leaders urging caution. At least 10 people died in shelling at the border in Kashmir.

Comedian Trevor Noah apologised for making a Bollywood joke about the conflict between India and Pakistan which brought the nuclear rivals closer to another war and left more than 10 people dead in related fighting.

On "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah," Noah said that he did not want the two countries to go to war, but "if they did go to war it would probably be most entertaining war of all time."

Noah said that in the event of war, Indian soldiers would enter the battlefield singing "time for you to die," before miming an Indian soldier dancing and singing in the style typical of Bollywood, the huge Indian film industry that often incorporates song and dance.

Noah joked that "it would also be the longest war of all time — another dance number!"


Watch the clip below. Noah begins to talk about the situation between India and Pakistan at two minutes into the video:

Tensions sharply rose between the two nuclear rivals after a February 14 attack in the disputed Kashmir region, carried out by a terrorist group based in Pakistan, that killed at least 40 Indian troops.

The two countries then shot each others' jets out of the sky, and Pakistan captured an Indian pilot on Wednesday. Pakistan returned the pilot on Friday as a "peace gesture."

Noah apologised for the joke on Saturday, tweeting: "As a comedian I use comedy to process pain and discomfort in my world but I am sorry that this hurt you and others, that's not what I was trying to do."

He also pointed out the irony that his joke "trended more than the story of the actual conflict itself."

"Sometimes it seems like people are more offended by the jokes comedians make about an issue than the issue itself," Noah said.

Critics called Noah's joke "racist" and wrote under Comedy Central UK's official YouTube video that Noah was trying to make war "funny" and that he was "reducing a whole country to a movie industry."

One commenter wrote on YouTube: "Dear Trevor Noah, I am an Indian. I found all your shows funny except this one. War is not funny. My state is very close to Pakistan and you should come and see the tension here. WAR IS NOT AN ENTERTAINMENT."

"The conditions here are really bad. Please don't call war an entertainment as we've fought many battles with Pakistan and we know that it's not funny. It's not 'entertainment' [because] it results in nothing but bloodshed and loss."

World leaders urged caution as tensions mounted between India and Pakistan, who have fought three wars over the Kashmir before. They took place in 1947, 1965, and 1999.

The two countries have blamed one another for each attack and offered conflicting accounts of the clashes over the past three weeks.

Troops fired across Kashmir's Line of Control between the two countries, with at least eight civilians and two soldiers killed in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir since last Tuesday, The Associated Press reported.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since both countries gained independence from British rule in 1947. Both countries claim the territory in its entirety.

Pakistan's foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, told CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Thursday that had the conflict escalated into war, it would have been "mutual suicide."

The country's prime minister, Imran Khan, also questioned whether the countries could "afford miscalculation" given the devastation that could be caused by their nuclear arsenals.

India, by contrast, has remained relatively silent over the course of the conflict.

Pakistan shut down its entire airspace last week but has since reopened parts of it. The country said that it will take action against militant groups operating on its soil, Reuters reported, in a sign that tensions are de-escalating since the return of the Indian pilot.

Trevor Noah apologised for making a Bollywood joke about the India-Pakistan conflict

 

[Box Factory]

Jon Stewart wouldn't have apologised

The daily show sucks now

Shoulda let it go when Stewart moved on

 

[1thouwow]

nikkas stay apologizing for shyt they believe in.

 

[Sukairain]

Certain things it's in very poor taste to joke about, and wars are one of those. Except historical wars with a 200 year statute of limitations, so jokes about Napoleon's invasion of Russia and earlier is fair game

 

[50CentStan]

People are too sensitive. Who gives af. How about both those countries leaders appologize for nearly going to war? Who gives af was a C class comedian says?

 

[Luken]

Certain things it's in very poor taste to joke about, and wars are one of those. Except historical wars with a 200 year statute of limitations, so jokes about Napoleon's invasion of Russia and earlier is fair game

Tensions are still at an all time high between my Paki and Indian friends, old beefs and beliefs being reignited

 

[Luken]

People are too sensitive. Who gives af. How about both those countries leaders appologize for nearly going to war? Who gives af was a C class comedian says?

its more than that, its an active situation that people on both sides have died for. People willing to defend their culture to the death tend to also take it quite seriously as well

 

[KneeGrow.]

Certain things it's in very poor taste to joke about, and wars are one of those. Except historical wars with a 200 year statute of limitations, so jokes about Napoleon's invasion of Russia and earlier is fair game

Who determines this, and what are the things that are appropriate to joke about?

 

[NSSVO]

Jon Stewart wouldn't have apologised

The daily show sucks now

Shoulda let it go when Stewart moved on

Didn't watch either, but people are really into Noah it seems

 

[HYDRO]

Didn't watch either, but people are really into Noah it seems

Its a completely different show now
Tbh
Comparing the two isnt fair
I rock with Trevor but I prefer the podcast than actually watching the show

 

[Sukairain]

Who determines this, and what are the things that are appropriate to joke about?

There's no objective institution or anything like that. It's just common sense. If people died because of something you probably shouldn't joke about it publicly

 

[Collateral]

They make black people apologize to every group under the sun, even for the most trivial of things. Who is apologizing to us though? They can murder us on film and call us all kinds of ****** and post pics of themselves in blackface, and not one sincere apology to us. That’s why I say fukk em and their momma.

 

[KneeGrow.]

There's no objective institution or anything like that. It's just common sense. If people died because of something you probably shouldn't joke about it publicly

So, you acknowledge the subjectivity of jokes and add a caveat to the telling of said jokes.

iight

 

[Tommy Knocks]

They make black people apologize to every group under the sun, even for the most trivial of things. Who is apologizing to us though? They can murder us on film and call us all kinds of ****** and post pics of themselves in blackface, and not one sincere apology to us. That’s why I say fukk em and their momma.

Huh people apologize all the damn time and get fired or removed from networks. Didn't that white broad just get removed from fox for her black face comments? Stop dap fishing

As for this, the joke was dry had it been actually funny it would have slid but since it was wack and they're currently pointing nukes at each other in code red, it's in poor taste

 

[Collateral]

Huh people apologize all the damn time and get fired or removed from networks. Didn't that white broad just get removed from fox for her black face comments? Stop dap fishing

As for this, the joke was dry had it been actually funny it would have slid but since it was wack and they're currently pointing nukes at each other in code red, it's in poor taste

I won’t even bother arguing with someone defending any white supremacist. You got it..