Trevor Noah is quitting his late-night hosting job to pursue other projects, leaving behind his eight-figure salary.
After seven years on “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central, Noah announced on Sept. 29 that he is departing as its host. Noah, whose net worth is about $100 million, has made around $16 million per season since 2017.
Taking over the show in 2015 from comedian Jon Stewart, the 38-year-old South African comedian made the program his own.
“I’ve loved hosting this show. It’s been one of my greatest challenges. It’s been one of my greatest joys. I’ve loved trying to figure out how to make people laugh even when the stories are particularly s—– on the worst days,” Noah said.
According to Radar Online, the comedian is leaving the show because he wants to go back on the comedy circuit. He’s already on a world tour; he also has several projects in the pipeline. According to Seat Geek, tickets to Noah’s show in the U.S. are starting around $30, depending upon city. Compare this to Chris Rock, whose tour tickets on the same site are starting at around $100.
But Noah does have potential to do well on the tour circuit. Kevin Hart, for example, earned $750,000 from one of his comedy tours. Hart also now negotiates that he takes a high percentage of the ticket price–reportedly as much as 90 percent–when hw invests heavily himself in a tour.
At the end of September, Noah had multiple shows in Canada, in October, he’s hitting Florida; and at the start of 2023, he has a show in Great Britain.
‘The Daily Show’
Noah, 38, has been hosting “The Daily Show” since 2015, making between $5 and $8 million per season. After he signed a five-year extension in 2017, in which he would keep hosting the show until 2022, he negotiated a deal closer to Stewart’s $25 million contract.
The show averaged less than 400,000 viewers, and while that is a massive decline from its glory days, some say streaming is one of the reasons why the nightly “news” show is tanking in the ratings, The New York Post reported.
As a comparison, back in 2013, previous host Stewart averaged 2.5 million nightly viewers.
“The Daily Show” was hosted by Craig Kilborn from 1996 to 1998 and Jon Stewart (1999–2015).
Comedy Central seems unbothered by Noah’s departure, congratulating the soon-to-be leaving “anchor” in a statement: “We are grateful to Trevor for our amazing partnership over the past seven years. With no timetable for his departure, we’re working together on next steps.
“As we look ahead, we’re excited for the next chapter in the 25-plus year history of ‘The Daily Show’ as it continues to redefine culture through sharp and hilarious,” the statement continued.
Noah’s Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
As previously reported by Finurah, In 2021, Noah filed a lawsuit against Dr. Riley J. Williams, who specializes in knee, shoulder and elbow work. The Hospital for Special Surgery was also named in the suit, which charges that Dr. Williams was negligent during an unspecified procedure Dr. Williams performed on Noah in 2021. Noah claims due to William’s negligence, he suffered a “permanent, severe and grievous” injury. The lawsuit claims that both the hospital and orthopedic surgeon were “careless in failing to treat and care for [him] in a careful and skillful manner.”
