Sunday night, Trevor Noah earned an impressive distinction from the recently re-branded MTV Movie & TV Awards: the title of Best Late Night Host, beating out Ellen Degeneres, John Oliver, Samantha Bee, and RuPaul.
Noah, who took over The Daily Show desk in 2015, when longtime and much-beloved host Jon Stewart departed, has received mixed reviews from critics in the two years he’s been on air. A sharp comic who grows more comfortable as a host with every passing month, Noah was also a relative unknown when he took over, which means audiences have been slow to warm up to him — but at least, as this win shows, he’s a hit with the MTV generation.
The host accepted his award with a heartfelt dedication to his mother, Patricia Nombuyiselo Noah, saying: “She is a powerful, strong black woman who didn’t listen when they told me she couldn’t be more.”
Also at the ceremony, ‘Lil Rel Howery took home the Best Comedic Performance award for his performance in Get Out, over Workaholics’ Adam Devine (who also hosted the ceremony), Broad City’s Abbi and Ilana (for some reason lumped together in this category), Family Guy’s Seth McFarlane, Seth Rogen for Sausage Party, and Will Arnett for The LEGO Batman Movie.
