Trevor Noah Mocks Joe Rogan’s Controversial Comments on Skin Tone and the Term ‘Black’

Trevor Noah is schooling Joe Rogan on Black identity.

During a recent episode of the Daily Show, Noah took some time to address Rogan’s take on skin color and the use of the term “Black.” The podcaster/UFC commentator explained he finds the descriptor to be “weird,” as there’s a wide “spectrum of shades” within various races.

“Unless you’re talking to someone who is, like, 100 percent African, from the darkest place, where they are not wearing any clothes all day and they’ve developed all that melanin to protect themselves from the sun, you know, even the term ‘Black’ is weird,” the 54-year-old said on his eponymous podcast. “When you use it for people who are literally my color, it becomes very strange.”

Noah played the clip during Wednesday’s of his satirical news show, and responded in the most Noah way.

“Oh my God! I’m not Black! I’m not Black! Joe Rogan’s right! I’m like a Caramel Mocha Frappuccino,” the host said while pretending to be shocked. “This changes everything. This changes everything!”

Noah got up from his desk and rushed off the set before sirens rang out and he returned to the stage.

“The police said I’m Black,” he said. “But yeah, apparently Joe Rogan really wants to know why they say ‘Black people’ if they’re not the color of a Sharpie.” 

Noah, who was born in South Africa, gave Rogan—and his viewers—a brief history lesson on the term “Black.”

“Black people didn’t call themselves Black. You understand that, right?” he continued. “It’s not like Black people were like, ‘We’re Black.’ No. In Africa, we have tribes. We have cultures. Zulu. Xhosa. Baganda. Igbo. Wakandans! But then white people got there, and they were like, ‘Wow, there’s a lot of Black people here.’ … Then in America, they invented a rule that if you had one drop of Black blood in you, that makes you Black, which defined how you were treated by the government and by society. Even vampires wouldn’t bite you.”

Though Noah, like many people, was clearly frustrated with Rogan’s comments, he managed to find a silver lining in the situation. “Look at the up side: At least Joe Rogan wasn’t talking about vaccines.”

You can check out the full Daily Show video up top or an excerpt below.