Trevor Noah Says Goodbye to ‘The Daily Show’ With Moving Tribute to Black Women

The Trevor Noah era of The Daily Show has come to an end.

On Thursday’s show, Noah officially said goodbye after serving as host of the late-night program for seven years. His predecessor was Jon Stewart, who left in 2015 and has since gone on to Apple TV+’s The Problem.

“I remember when we started the show, we couldn’t get enough people to fill an audience. … There were empty seats,” Noah said on Thursday, as seen in the video above. “And then I look at this now, I don’t take it for granted ever. Every seat that has ever been filled to watch something that I’m doing I always appreciate because I know the empty seat that sits behind it.”

From there, Noah shared his appreciations for everyone who made his tenure a success, even those who “hate-watched” the show. “We still got the ratings, thank you,” he joked, adding that he was “eternally grateful” to such haters.

Noah closed on a more serious note by sharing a moving message to the Black women in his life.

“This is random for some but a special shout-out to Black women,” he said. “I’ve often been credited with having these grand ideas and people will be like, ‘Oh, Trevor. You’re so smart’ and I’m like, who do you think teaches me? Who do you think has shaped me, nourished me, and formed me? From my mom, my gran, my aunt—all these Black women in my life. But then in America, as well. I always tell people if you truly want to learn about America, talk to Black women.”

Elaborating further, Noah continued, “Because unlike everybody else, Black women cannot afford to fuck around and find out. Black people understand how hard it is when things go bad, especially in America, but any place where Black people exist. Whether it’s Brazil, whether it’s South Africa, wherever it is. When things go bad, Black people know that it gets worse for them. Black women, in particular, they know what shit is. Genuinely.”

Black women, Noah added, are “a lot of the reason that I’m here.” And in closing, he said it’s been “an honor” to host The Daily Show for seven years. See more above.

As for who will step into the role next, that has not been publicly announced. Starting in January, however, Comedy Central has lined up a number of guest hosts including Chelsea Handler, Leslie Jones, Hasan Minhaj, Wanda Sykes, and more.