Trump Threatens to Sue Trevor Noah Over Grammy Joke
US President Donald Trump has threatened legal action against comedian Trevor Noah following a joke made about Trump and Jeffrey Epstein during the Grammy Awards ceremony.
While hosting the event, Noah remarked:
"Song of the Year - that is a Grammy that every artist wants almost as much as Trump wants Greenland, which makes sense because Epstein's island is gone, he needs a new one to hang out with Bill Clinton."
Trump has been known as an associate of Epstein for several years but maintains he had no knowledge of Epstein's criminal activities and that their relationship ended around 2004. There are no allegations that Trump ever visited Epstein's private island, and he has not been accused of any crimes by Epstein's victims. The US Department of Justice has stated that allegations against Trump are unfounded and false.
In 2020, a spokesperson for former President Bill Clinton stated that Clinton had "never been" to Epstein's island, Little St James. Clinton has not faced accusations of wrongdoing related to Epstein.
In response to Noah's joke, Trump declared he would be "sending my lawyers to sue." Posting on Truth Social, Trump wrote:
"Noah said, INCORRECTLY about me, that Donald Trump and Bill Clinton spent time on Epstein Island. WRONG!!!
"I can't speak for Bill, but I have never been to Epstein Island, nor anywhere close, and until tonight's false and defamatory statement, have never been accused of being there, not even by the Fake News Media.
"Noah, a total loser, better get his facts straight, and get them straight fast."
He added: "Get ready Noah, I'm going to have some fun with you!"
Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his New York prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. This occurred more than a decade after he was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor. Epstein had purchased his private island in 1998. Multiple survivors have alleged that they were trafficked to the island and abused there.
Trump has pursued legal action against several media organizations in recent years, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. In December, he filed a multi-billion dollar lawsuit in a Florida court accusing the BBC of defamation and violating trade practices law over the editing of a Panorama programme.
Trevor Noah is a South African-born comedian who hosted The Daily Show on Comedy Central in the United States for seven years.
