He’s done it! After 11 Emmy nominations, South African comedian Trevor Noah has clinched his first win. Trevor took home Outstanding Variety Series for ‘The Daily Show with Trevor Noah’ at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards at Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles which took place earlier this morning.
The win makes Trevor the first African and black TV host to win in his category since it was introduced in 2015.
In his speech, Noah poked fun at the fact that John Oliver, who previously won seven times in a row for his work on ‘Last Week Tonight With John Oliver’. This year, he was nominated in a new category Outstanding Scripted Variety Series which left the door wide open for other late-night hosts who thrive on conversations more than scripts to take home an award.
Noah, who left ‘The Daily Show’ more than a year ago, accepted the award thanking the incredible team who worked with him on the show. He also Jon Stewart, who was also in the category with ‘The Problem with Jon Stewart’, for bringing him to ‘The Daily Show’, as well as showrunner Jen Flanz, “this woman rode with me through the trenches”.
“I told you we’d beat John Oliver if he wasn’t in our category. We did it, we got rid of John Oliver. This story has been so long, so crazy, so wonderful. I want to start by thanking the crazy Africans who followed me to this country, David Kibuuka and Joseph Opio, David Meyer, my partner in crime, the writers and the team, Roy Wood Jr. from the very beginning, Jordan Klepper, whose flight got canceled, showrunner Jen Flanz, this woman rode with me through the trenches, thank you so much to the team, to everyone who gave us an opportunity, and honestly, the person I always thank because he’s a crazy genius for thinking of it, Jon Stewart. Wherever you are my friend, thank you for calling me up and asking me to come and join you on this crazy journey,” said Noah.
Watch his powerful acceptance speech below:
