Following a controversy over his sketch on Rishi Sunak's election as UK prime minister, comedian Trevor Noah has clarified that he did not assert "the entire UK is racist."
This week, Noah claimed on the American television programme The Daily Show that there had been a "backlash" to Sunak's remarks, which had drawn heavy criticism in the UK. Sajid Javid, a former chancellor, claimed Noah was "just wrong."
However, the comedian has since defended his piece, claiming that he was responding to racists when he added, "That's why I said'some people'."
Sunak, the first Hindu and British-Asian prime minister of the United Kingdom, was born to Indian parents in Hampshire. On Tuesday, he assumed his position as PM and head of the Conservative Party.
Noah, a South African who grew up under apartheid, said in his initial comments on the US programme: "You hear a lot of the folks screaming, 'Oh, they're taking over, now the Indians are going to take over Great Britain and what's next?'"
And I frequently ask myself, "So what? What frightens you? I believe this is the case because many people don't realise they are saying, "We don't want these once oppressed people to get power because they might do to us what we did to them.
When a caller erroneously claimed Sunak was "not even British" during the Conservative leadership contest a week ago, Noah aired a clip from LBC radio during his farce.
In reaction, Javid tweeted that Noah's remarks were "totally wrong" and that Britain was "proud of our historic achievement as the most successful multiracial democracy on planet."
Rory Stewart, a past candidate for the Tory leadership, called Noah's comments "absolutely odd" and an instance of "lazy stereotyping."
Sunak doesn't think Britain is a racist nation, according to Downing Street, which stated this on Thursday.
Additionally, the host Piers Morgan tweeted that American media "falsely portrays Britain as a racist country."
Noah answered on Friday night. Piers, you're smarter than that, he replied, "come on."
I was reacting to the bigots who don't want Rishi as PM because of his colour, not stating that everyone in the UK is racist. Because of this, I said "some folks."
Noah has long discussed racial injustice. A allusion to the fact that he was born in South Africa to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a period when such a connection was punishable by incarceration, he published a book in 2017 with the working title Born a Crime.
Before migrating to the US in 2011, he started his career in South Africa, where he produced a number of stand-up specials and hosted a late-night chat show.
Since 2015, he has served as host of The Daily Show, a late-night chat show and satirical news programme. Last month, he made the announcement that he will be stepping down.
