Trevor Noah Twitter

— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) February 5, 2015 Noah’s tweets are incredibly disappointing. There is no excuse for lazy, offensive humor that targets marginalized groups. International comedian, Trevor Noah, shared an old joke about Melania Trump and congratulated her for a successful #BeBest campaign - He joked that her campaign had helped to ban her husband. A day after South African comedian Trevor Noah was named Jon Stewart's successor on 'The Daily Show,' critics have been citing jokes on his twitter feed that they see as bigoted. Trevor Noah Mocks Trump for Throwing a Tantrum Over How Many Twitter Followers He Has YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS “It’s like breaking the news to a child that Santa isn’t real,” joked the comedian.

Less than 24 hours after comedian Trevor Noah was named as Jon Stewart’s replacement as host of The Daily Show, people have taken issue with some of the South African’s past jokes.

Noah, who has previously appeared on the show as an international correspondent, has been acting and doing stand-up comedy for years. Though he has a large following internationally, he hasn’t been a household name in the U.S. But it appears that as Americans began acquainting themselves with 31-year-old Noah, they also discovered a few jokes that were quickly deemed “anti-Semitic” and “sexist.”

For his part, Noah broke his silence Tuesday in a tweet.

MORE: Comedy Central Calls Criticism of Trevor Noah ‘Unfair’

Many of the jokes in question were in the form of old tweets from Noah’s account:

As more of Noah’s old tweets were dug up and retweeted, a number of people expressed their disgust on social media. Several even tweeted at Comedy Central and called for Noah to be fired:

Others felt the need to defend the comedian, even pointing to his background (he’s the son of a black Xhosa mother and a white Swiss father):

MORE: Abe Foxman Says ‘Let’s Not Pre-Judge Trevor Noah

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Then there were the people who seemed to expect a backlash of some sort:

Read next: Watch Trevor Noah’s 3 Appearances on The Daily Show

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EDIT POST

Less than 24 hours after securing one of the coolest gigs on TV, Trevor Noah — Jon Stewart's Daily Show successor — found himself in hot water over some jokes he made on Twitter years ago.

Because Internet.

See also: 10 Trevor Noah standup clips that prove he deserves the 'Daily Show' gig

The content of six jokes made between 2009 and 2014 has been enough for Twitter to accuse Noah of anti-semitism, sexism and fat-shaming.

But the one label the critics seem to be forgetting? Comedian on Twitter — a distinction that comes with the impossible expectation to be edgy enough to stand out on social media but digestible enough to achieve (or, in some cases, maintain) mainstream success.

It's not easy being a comedian in the Age of Outrage.

Before this evolves into a full-fledged Defense of Trevor Noah's Tweets, let's be clear: The jokes are certainly off-color. We all agree on that.

But decide for yourself what the level of outrage should be. Below, the six tweets, presented in chronological order:

Almost bumped a Jewish kid crossing the road. He didn't look b4 crossing but I still would hav felt so bad in my german car!

— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) September 18, 2009

South Africans know how to recycle like israel knows how to be peaceful.

— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) June 2, 2010

'Oh yeah the weekend. People are gonna get drunk & think that I'm sexy!' - fat chicks everywhere.

— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) October 14, 2011

A hot white woman with ass is like a unicorn. Even if you do see one, you'll probably never get to ride it.

— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) November 28, 2011

Messi gets the ball and the real players try foul him, but Messi doesn't go down easy, just like jewish chicks. #ElClasico

— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) January 25, 2012

Behind every successful Rap Billionaire is a double as rich Jewish man. #BeatsByDreidel

— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) May 12, 2014

For its part, Comedy Central is standing behind Noah.

'Like many comedians, Trevor Noah pushes boundaries; he is provocative and spares no one, himself included. To judge him or his comedy based on a handful of jokes is unfair,' the network said in a statement Tuesday.

.@ComedyCentral stands with @Trevornoah. pic.twitter.com/UnL4DZFjee

— Comedy Central Press (@ComedyCentralPR) March 31, 2015

Public consensus? Boo, hiss.

We wish @TrevorNoah success @TheDailyShow; hope he keeps it funny without engaging in jokes at the expense of Jews. http://t.co/bAGk8SykIb

— ADL News (@ADL_News) March 31, 2015

@Jefe@Trevornoah gr8-where's his apology?

— Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) March 31, 2015

Trevor Noah was funnier yesterday.

— Joshua Malina (@JoshMalina) March 31, 2015

Noah responded to the controversy late Tuesday afternoon, tweeting, 'To reduce my views to a handful of jokes that didn’t land is not a true reflection of my character, nor my evolution as a comedian.'

To reduce my views to a handful of jokes that didn’t land is not a true reflection of my character, nor my evolution as a comedian.

— Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) March 31, 2015

Before Noah's response, Daniel Tosh, who has a program on Comedy Central, also piped up to defend him via Twitter.

to be fair to trevor noah, all foreign comics are at least a decade behind us in what they think is funny. #fakeoutrage

— daniel tosh (@danieltosh) March 31, 2015

Tosh is, of course, no stranger to controversy. Earlier this year, the comedian allegedly made a series of rape jokes during a set at a comedy club, which he later apologized for.

The two situations are not quite comparable, but the point stands: Comedians are being asked to do a lot of apologizing these days.

Considering how frequently news is generated by Internet vigilantes, some have wondered why Noah's past tweets weren't vetted by the network and combed for possible controversy-stirring content.

Such a question assumes several things, the most notable being that the network didn't study his Twitter account and see the tweets. But it's not out of the realm of possibility that the network would have no shame about Noah's tweets.

As a network that has nurtured some of its biggest stars from the start of their careers and a place that supports the art of comedy, it's not so crazy to think Comedy Central would stand by them.

Furthermore, the situation probably would have been worse had the tweets been deleted and then discovered.

Mashable spoke to Comedy Central President Michele Ganeless on Monday, who had glowing things to say about the network's newest star.

See also: Why Comedy Central picked Trevor Noah to replace Jon Stewart on 'The Daily Show'

The conversation followed Noah's official appointment but came before the Twitter controversy. Discussion, naturally, turned to Stewart's legacy and how Ganeless believes Noah will continue to build upon it.

'The show is constantly evolving and finding new approaches, and I think Trevor is the perfect person to continue that evolution,' she said. 'If you watch his career and look at some of his standup over the last five years — he hasn't been doing this that long — he himself has evolved. He's evolved his style and approach and that's what we need on the Daily Show — a constant evolution because the world is changing way too fast.'

Again, those words had nothing to do with the situation at hand, but they say volumes about the network's approach to the search for Stewart's replacement.

Is there a comedian out there who hasn't ruffled feathers at some point? I applaud and welcome the search, however fruitless it may be. But is there a comedian out there who will maintain that all of their jokes are great? Not any great ones.