NEWSTrevor Noah Defends Jimmy Kimmel as He Makes Jokes About Charlie Kirk's Death: 'That's What Comedians Do'
Trevor Noah controversially referenced Charlie Kirk's assassination during a recent stand-up performance.
Oct. 9 2025, Published 7:55 p.m. ET
No longer a late-night talk show host, Trevor Noah used his comedic freedom to joke about Charlie Kirk's assassination.
During a stand-up act at the Comedy Cellar in New York City, Noah took a bold stance as he refused to not crack jokes about Kirk's death despite recent backlash and threats from Donald Trump and his MAGA fanbase toward people poking fun at the late right-wing political commentator and his conservative views.
Noah took the stage as part of Saudi Arabia's state-sponsored Riyadh Comedy Festival roughly one month after Kirk was shot dead in the neck at age 31 on Wednesday, September 10.
Trevor Noah argued comedians should be able to joke about Charlie Kirk's murder.
"It's almost perfect comedy timing that this happened now, right? Because had this comedy festival happened at any other time, I think America as an idea would have had more of a leg to stand on as a moral authority," Noah said to the audience before referencing Jimmy Kimmel's recent suspension from ABC last month.
"This is the same country where a few weeks ago, you know, Jimmy Kimmel gets kicked off his show—for not making" a joke about Kirk’s murder, Noah snubbed, insisting Kimmel's monologue was about MAGA's response to the shooting. "I went back to look for the joke that they said… there is no joke."
Charlie Kirk was assassinated on Wednesday, September 10.
Noah acknowledged how many argued there's "nothing funny" about Kirk's assassination, though he was eager to prove them wrong.
"You can't say there's nothing funny about it... The guy was shot while defending guns. Do you understand how I'm not even writing that as a joke? As a human, you have to admit that is an incongruous funny thing that happens," the former Daily Show host declared.
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Charlie Kirk was passionate about the Second Amendment before his death.
Noah had been referencing how Kirk was shot dead while speaking at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University.
He was in the middle of answering a question about how many transgender people he believed were responsible for mass shootings in America when he was gunned down.
After his assassination, a video resurfaced of Kirk once stating: "I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year, so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God given rights."
Trevor Noah said joking about death and bad things is 'literally what comedians do.'
Noah compared Kirk's death to the sinking of the Titanic, as he claimed, "That would be like if the captain of the Titanic was giving an impassioned speech about icebergs right before it happened."
"He's like, 'I'll tell you why icebergs are not as bad as people say,'" he quipped before pretending to crash. "The whole thing is ridiculous."
"Don’t say there’s nothing funny [about the way Kirk died]," Noah warned. "You keep saying that and you’re going to make me find the funny."
The Black Panther voice actor defended his right to joke about Kirk's murder, arguing, "that's literally what comedians do."
"That’s the whole point of it. There’s nothing funny about most things in our lives — nothing funny about death, nothing funny about life, nothing funny about struggling. That’s the whole point of it, is to find a moment of solace," he explained.
