Trevor Noah jumps into fan’s car to beat traffic in Johannesburg

Comedian and presenter Trevor Noah was forced to jump into a fan’s car to get to an interview on time this week – something that played out live on air.

Noah, who hosted the Daily Show for seven years before quitting in 2022, was due to appear on the 947 radio station in Johannesburg for a morning chat, but bad traffic and an argument between a bike and a taxi driver left the comic late for his appearance on the show.

“There’s a bicycle fighting with a taxi driver,” Noah shouted down a phone line to the show’s hosts (via BBC) as he described his nightmare journey into the studio.

“That’s not in your traffic report,” Noah added, before saying that he was “gonna get in with some guy,” in an attempt to get to the station.

“Can I just say, whoever is in this traffic, I feel you. We are together,” he laughed while explaining the ordeal after eventually getting to the station with the help of a fan.

“The driver I’m with doesn’t know where we’re going,” he recalled. “So I jump out of the car, said I’m gonna run.”

“While I’m running people are in the street – listening to your show – [are] hooting and shouting ‘Trevor it’s the other way! You’re going the wrong way, Trevor!’

“Then one guy decides to stop. He doesn’t just point, he stops the car. He says ‘Trevor, get in.’

“Then he took me to the wrong building!” Noah laughed.

He was eventually found by a staff member of the station, who took him to the studio. On his arrival, he was greeted with cheers.

South African comedian Noah took over from Jon Stewart as host of The Daily Show in 2015. Noah began his stand-up career is his native South Africa before becoming the first South African stand-up comedian to appear on The Tonight Show in 2012 and the first South African stand-up comedian to appear on The Late Show With David Letterman the following year. In the UK, he has made TV appearances on QI and Eight Out Of Ten Cats.

Speaking about his decision to leave The Daily Show in 2022, he said: “What a journey it’s been. Every single one of you who comes here to support us every single day, everybody who’s watched the show and then it’s grown all around the world. And, you know, I recently went to India for the first time and the people there who, you know, have supported everything that we’ve done. And I, I just found myself filled with gratitude for for the journey.

“It’s been it’s been absolutely amazing. It’s something that I never expected. And I found myself thinking throughout the time, you know, everything we’ve gone through, the Trump presidency, the pandemic, just the journey of, you know, the more pandemic. And then, and I realised that after the seven years, my time is up.”

He added: “But in the most in the most beautiful way. Honestly. I’ve loved hosting the show. It’s been one of my greatest challenges. It’s been one of my greatest joys. I have loved trying to figure out how to make people laugh, even when the stories are particularly shitty on the worst days. You know, we’ve laughed together, we’ve cried together. But after seven years, I feel like it’s time.”

Noah recently signed a deal with Spotify to host a weekly podcast, which will reportedly premiere later this year.

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