Before Trevor Noah took over from Jon Stewart, he indicated that The Daily Show would not be putting as much focus on skewering Fox News as it did in the past. But after Gretchen Carlson abruptly left the network and dropped a sexual harassment lawsuit at boss Roger Ailes’s feet, he apparently couldn’t resist.
“You know when something you always assumed was going to happen finally happens—and yet when it actually does happen, you’re still surprised?” the host asked Thursday night. “That’s how we felt yesterday when this happened,” he added, showing highlights from the media coverage of the scandal.
His first reaction was disgust at alleged “sexual advances” from Ailes. “It is nice to know that while liberals and conservatives disagree on a lot of things, the one thing they all see eye to eye on is the fact that this guy is unfuckable.” Noah gave “props” to Carlson for coming forward, an act that he said took almost as much “courage” as sleeping with Ailes.
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But for anyone who actually watches Fox News, like he and his Daily Show staff are forced to do out of professional obligation, Noah said none of this should “come as a surprise.” After all, Fox is the one network that “devotes 30 percent of programming to women’s legs.”
As Carlson revealed in a radio interview with her former Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade three years ago, that show and others on Fox had a strict no-pants policy that only applied to women.
With that in mind, Noah said, “I’m inclined to believe Gretchen Carlson, not because we know what happens behind the camera at Fox News, but because we definitely know what happens in front of it.”
From there, The Daily Show presented an epic montage of Fox News’ most misogynistic moments, which included not only Kilmeade and Steve Doocy—who was also cited in Carlson’s suit—but also Greg Gutfeld, Eric Bolling, Bob Beckel, and others. It culminated in a 2012 incident in which she literally walked off the set following a series of sexist jokes.
Referring to Fox’s “We Report, You Decide” slogan, Noah said he’s made his decision and he hopes Carlson wins her lawsuit.
