Trevor Noah skips The Daily Show taping, MTV MAMAs due to infection

Trevor Noah was forced to drop out of hosting the MTV Africa Music Awards, and was subbed by Jordan Klepper on The Daily Show over an infection.

The Daily Show viewers were greeted by Jordan Klepper at the top of Thursday’s episode announcing that host Trevor Noah was out sick, and that he would be filling in for him. The correspondent first joked that the South African comedian was out due to an exploding dimple, before revealing the real reason: his “heroic battle with penis farting syndrome.”

“While we’re on the subject of a white guy trying to fill a black man’s job, let’s talk about Donald Trump!” Klepper said while seguing into yet another segment about the Republican nominee, this one regarding his refusal to say whether he’ll accept the outcome of the election. Klepper, who’s starred in several stand-out segments interviewing Trump supporters at his rallies, acquitted himself well throughout the episode, which also featured a piece by Roy Wood, Jr. documenting what black journalists have to endure on cable news networks. The installment may have served as an audition of sorts for Klepper, who is currently developing his own project with Comedy Central.

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
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As for Noah, we now know that his illness was not, in fact, penis farts, but instead a severe upper respiratory and ear infection, which caused him to not only miss The Daily Show taping on Thursday, but also forced him to drop out of hosting the MTV Africa Music Awards (or MAMAs) that took place Saturday evening in Johannesburg. He was replaced by a trio of women from the music and modeling worlds in Africa: Bonang Matheba, Nomzamo Mbatha and Yemi Alade.

“Due to the infection and strain on my vocal chords the doctor has ordered me to rest my voice and recover my health. I desperately wish I could dismiss the doctor but the added risk of flying means that decision would be highly irresponsible and may cause further damage,” he wrote in a lengthy statement posted to his Twitter account. Read the message in full below:

Noah also released the following video to his fans via Instagram:

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Comedy Central will air a special Daily Show episode on Monday recapping the best of the show’s 2016 election coverage while Noah recuperates. The rest of the week will feature such guests as CNN’s Dana Bash, rapper Yeezy, Phil Collins and John Della Volpe. While the late-night series has struggled in the ratings since Jon Stewart’s departure, it’s viewership has risen in recent weeks as the presidential campaign enters the final stretch. For the week of October 10, The Daily Show averaged a 0.34 demo rating among adults 18-49 and just under a million viewers, its best numbers since February.

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah airs Monday-Thursday at 11 p.m. on Comedy Central.