Trevor Noah Recalls The Day His Stepfather Shot His Mom While Explaining The Dangers Of Kanye West’s Abuse
This Kanye West situation is getting out of hand.
DFree / Jaguar PS / Shutterstock Famous talk show host and comedian Trevor Noah, shared some of his vulnerabilities with fans earlier this week during a segment where he talked about the Kim Kardashian, Pete Davidson, and Kanye West problem that’s been plaguing the news everywhere.
The harassment and toxicity from West’s camp has gone from tabloid gossip and opinion to full-blown abuse that might affect more than those A-list celebrities.
Trevor Noah was reminded of his mother's abusive relationship while observing Kanye West's treatment of Kim Kardashian.
Noah opened up the segment where he brings up his mother’s shooting by talking about this concept that exists in pop culture — especially in America.
“There are some stories that are purely, like, entertainment. It’s tabloid, it is what it is,” he said. “But then there are some stories that I feel transcend everything and then speak to larger conversations.”
The proof that the Kardashian-West-Davidson drama has reached that point is the fact that Noah is even talking about this concept.
He admits that the story “started very much in the land of tabloid,” but has since then grown into a topic that needs to be discussed more widely, “but not for the reason you may think.”
Originally, the situation began as one of those “oh that’s just Kanye being Kanye” things but has quickly escalated to dangerous threats, emotional and manipulative behavior, and all-out harassment.
Noah brought up the infamous “Eazy” music video where West decapitates a claymation Davidson and wins Kardashian back — even addressing West’s defense.
“I do understand that art can be therapy, I honestly do understand that, right?” he said. “But I also understand that therapy can be therapy.”
He continues, comparing West to famous fapper Eminem and his “shtick” that he wanted to kill his ex-wife who is also ironically named Kim.
RELATED: Why Fans Think Kim Kardashian Deliberately Provoked Kanye West To Distract From Her Recent Scandal
“Eminem was Eminem from the beginning. ‘I’m gonna kill my ex-wife,’ but it was his shtick and we knew it was his shtick — he wasn’t that person,” he said. “With Kanye, we don’t know how to feel, we don’t know how to worry.”
West has admitted to having mental health problems in the past, which isn’t to say that just because he has mental health problems means he’ll kill Davidson, it simply means people are going to worry when he threatens it in claymation form.
A lot of people defend West by targeting Kardashian, saying that she loves this attention, which is something Noah brought up as well.
“‘Kim Kardashian — she loves publicity, she loves celebrity, she loves all of this. She does the Kardashians. This is her life, this is her thing,’” he said. “Yeah, and I get it, but, there’s also an element of a woman saying to her ex ‘Hey, please leave me alone.’”
This is where Noah’s earlier concept “transcends” the tabloid, because the Kardashian situation is serious, and he reveals how personal it is to him.
“What she’s going through is terrifying to watch, and it shines a spotlight on what so many women go through when they choose to leave,” he said.
People always ask women who suffer from abuse or survive abuse “Why didn’t you leave?” and this is exactly why.
Noah says that women realize that even if they were to leave, “the guy will get even crazier,” and also references how powerful Kardashian is and that even she can’t get him to stop.
“I grew up my whole life in an abusive household, right?” he starts. “One of the things I found most interesting was how often people told my mom she was overreacting.”
He talks about how everyone brushes the plights of women off, how people question women for what’s happening to them instead of questioning what’s happening to women.
“I’ll never forget, one day I got a call from my brother saying, ‘Hey, mom has just been shot in the head. She’s in the hospital now. She’s just been shot,’” he revealed. “And I’m not saying it to make it about me. I’m just saying maybe that’s why I look at the story differently, to be honest with you.”
The story of his mother being shot by his stepfather is one that he’s told for years, and has even used as a joke in his stand-up comedy — however, it’s a very real, very serious story that involves years of abuse.
13 years after Noah’s mother divorced from his stepfather, she married someone else and was shot by her ex-husband in the head — where she miraculously survived thanks to the bullet missing the spinal cord, brain, and all major nerves and blood vessels.
“For years my mother reached out to police for help with domestic abuse, and nothing was ever done,” he wrote in an email to City Press. “This is the norm in South Africa. Dockets went missing and cases never went to court.”
His mother’s situation is why he views Kardashian’s situation differently than most, and can’t leave it at “That’s just Kanye.”
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Follow him on Twitter here.