What Now? with Trevor Noah - Trevor and Friends: We Have Found Inner Peace [VIDEO]
Episode Date: April 11, 2024With Trevor back from a week in Bhutan where he just may have found inner peace (unless it was just something he ate), this week Trevor, Christiana Mbakwe Medina, and Josh Johnson discuss ROCKS—thos...e on the ground, those in space, and the one who goes by Dwayne Johnson. They also debate whether pushups can cure a gambling addiction and why the sun will always be the greatest scapegoat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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You are the most awkward person I know in certain situations.
Sure, sure.
I felt it.
I feel it every time.
There's a thing about being awkward that people don't give enough credit for.
I know what's happening.
I also want to leave.
But I don't know what to do next because it's my fault.
You see, but now I feel bad for you.
But here's the thing. I don't feel bad. I just know it's happening. I wish I could stop it. Okay
I'll give you an example if someone tied you to a chair you know that to get out
of the chair you'd have to break the ropes. Yes. But you don't know how to
break the ropes. Right. You don't have the strength to break the ropes. That is me in
every conversation. Except you're the person who tied yourself to the chair. Yes yes yes.
You're the person tying yourself to the chair and then you sit there looking at the other
person like, oh man, this is weird.
Yeah.
I look at the other person like, I shouldn't have done this.
Hey, what's going on everybody?
Welcome to another episode of What Now?
The podcast where we talk about all the conversations that are
invading your brain. Yeah, that's how I see them. They're invading your brain. This
week we're chatting about rocks. The rocks flying in space, the rocks under your
feet, and the rock who is no longer involved in politics. Now the only thing
I enjoy more than having conversations is having them with some of my favorite people.
And this week, I'm joined as usual by my good friend, Christiana, all the way from Los Angeles.
Yes, she is a mom, she is a thinker, and she's a person with a voice, once again.
And what a treat.
I'm joined by the one and only Josh Johnson, comedian and human being in the same space.
Touch my blood. That's what we say in Africa. Touch my blood.
Yeah, you like that?
That's way harder than shake my hand.
Yeah, touch my blood.
I love that.
That's what that is. Yeah. We started doing that when AIDS was spreading like really, it was like a big thing.
Oh, okay.
Yeah. Too late, you touched it.
Yeah. Welcome to the podcast.
This is What Now with Trevor Noah.
Join me, Esther Perel, every Monday in my office on Where Should We Begin?
I'm talking to couples and individuals about love and work,
about turning conflict into connection.
More than ever, our relationships define the quality of our lives.
So let's explore the myriad of relational challenges together.
See you Monday.
Happy podcast day, everybody. Happy podcast day, man. Happy podcast day. I've missed you,
Christiana. It feels like it has been forever since I've seen you. I missed you, Josh, and I missed you, Trevor. I'm glad I have a voice again.
Yeah.
It feels good to be able to speak.
Someone asked me if it was a gimmick or a gag. I don't know what people think. Someone
asked me this, they were, I was in an airport and someone came up to me and they were like,
I love the podcast so much and they're like, I have a girl crush on Christiana, please tell her.
And they're like, but I just didn't understand, is the voice thing real? What was that about?
Then I was like, what do you mean is it real? Please explain. Sometimes I don't think people
understand comedy. Because please explain to me what you think the premise of this joke would be,
that we would say Christiana doesn't have a voice
and then there's no payoff.
Yeah, yeah. Then she's just back one day.
And then she's just back.
Yeah.
Christiana, how's the family? How's everything going?
You know, I'm having a bit of a... They're good. You know, the headline is the family's
good. I should always lead with that.
You're so African when you do that. No, can I tell you, that's the most African thing
that you'll do, which reminds me of everybody from
home. You'll ask them a question about life or anything, they start telling you
the truth and they catch themselves and then they'll be like, you know, so they'll
be like, how's everything? Like, ah man, you know things, you know what, you know
what, I'm blessed. Let me start by saying I'm blessed. This is, yes, yes. This is
literally what you, it's the most African thing.
I know, I know, I know.
It's such a deep Southern thing too,
because just like when you're in the South,
like I was just in Raleigh,
and when you talk to anybody,
they'll start telling you about their day earnestly,
and then they feel like they're wiretapped by God.
Because then they'll start telling you about their day
and they'll be like, but God is good though.
But let's not forget that God is good. Okay, so I know I got hit by a car today, but oh God is good.
I just got hit by two cars. It does feel like that. It really does feel like that. God is good. He is good.
He's always good. He's all the time. All the time. And now that we're on a secure line, tell me your real story.
My real story is this. Okay, so I have an almost 10 month old named Luna, wonderful
little girl. But she's like, she's doing things differently to Obi did like Obi had teeth
at three months, Luna has no teeth. She refuses to crawl. She sat up a bit later. And you
know me, I'm like, I want her to be a
doctor or a lawyer so she should be walking in my books. So we keep bringing it up with
the pediatrician and the pediatrician says she's fine, she's fine, but take her somewhere
just to check and of course we're going to take her. And today we found out she is fine,
she's just lazy. So she needs physical therapy to get over the laziness. The ability is there,
but the desire is not, which is a, because she's supposed to be a doctor.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
Sounds to me like she's not lazy,
sounds like she's a genius.
Yeah, it sounds to me like she's not gonna be a doctor
or a lawyer, she's gonna be the president.
That's, I mean.
Either the president or she's gonna own, like,
create a tech company that has no value
but sell it for like two billion dollars,
which is, I, I am fine with that
Like that's a good outcome. Yeah, if I was a parent and I they told me that my child
Yeah has figured out yeah that they don't need to crawl. Mm-hmm
I mean they walked so that I don't have to crawl is essentially the world she's in
She's a trail. She's a trailbla. Trevor, I feel like you've just made up,
I feel like you just made it up,
but I'm gonna rock with it.
Do not deny the genius of your child.
You'll see in like eight months,
Luna's gonna be on the podcast.
She's gonna be like Beyonce's children.
She'll just be like featuring on the podcast,
winning us Grammys.
Today's episode of the podcast is gonna be fun.
There's a bunch of things happening.
I will tell you a little bit about where I was
because again, some people think I didn't tell them
where I was going.
Some people asked me if I was going to get a BBL,
that's why I disappeared and wouldn't say where I was going,
which was a strange one.
The fact that people think I needed a BBL.
Yeah, talk to them.
You know what I'm saying?
Yeah, yeah.
The worst thing about these kinds of rumors
is that now people see it when they didn't see it.
So if they go like, you went to go to BBL,
and they're like, I can see,
then you're like, that's how I've always been.
Then they're like, no, I would know.
So, do either of you know where Bhutan is?
I mean, if I was betting money, I would say Christiana knows. So, do either of you know where Bhutan is?
I mean, if I was betting money, I would say Christiana knows.
Again, Josh, this is not an insult to you.
I say this because I wasn't completely familiar
with where Bhutan was.
Christiana is somebody who's extremely learned
and she went to university.
I don't know that you went to university,
I didn't go to university.
So before you get offended at all,
I'm just, do you know anything about Bhutan?
Sometimes you say before you get offended at all, but you've already said all the things. Yeah, he's like, no offense,
but I'm about to offend you. No, I apologize. Josh, what do you know about Bhutan? I know
that it starts with a B. Christiana, what do you know about Bhutan? I don't know that
much about Bhutan. I don't. Do you know where it is?
A lot of people don't even know where it is.
Is it near the Indian Ocean or am I wrong?
No, so it's actually in the Eastern Himalayas.
Eastern Himalayas.
You're just trying to do the thing.
Oh man.
Oh, you just took me back to my childhood.
I have a cousin who tries to do that.
They try and answer the questions with you to act like they always knew the f*** man.
Thank you for that Josh.
Thank you so much for that.
No, so I was in Bhutan.
That's where I went for a week.
A country that is really interesting because they only got the internet and TV in 1999. The place was pretty much
closed off from the whole world. And then now they don't have a GDP. They measure their
success in what they call the GNH, gross national happiness. And so you go to a country where
they're like, oh yeah, money doesn't determine how well the country's doing. We measured
on people's general health, their connection with their family, their time, their free time. And so I went there and I just spent a week,
essentially with monks, them just telling me about happiness the whole time.
And was it like when you were talking to them, was it an inspiring experience or were you like,
like, or were they know they saw a monk it's
kind oh okay first of all I'll say this every real monk I've met is fun okay
fake monks yeah fake monks are the ones who are like there is nothing funny in
the world and you know if you like I had a bad day they're like there is no bad
and there is no day those guys those guys, those monks are assholes.
The monks, like the real real monks,
they're great, they have a good time.
Wow, okay.
The one monk was like,
hey, you should follow me on Instagram.
I was like, you have Instagram?
He's like, yeah, everyone has Instagram.
I was like, oh, but you're a monk.
He's like, I don't get what this has to do with anything.
Are you gonna follow me or not?
And then I thought he was joking
and then the next day I saw him again
and he's like, you didn't follow me. Yeah. Did you have to me or not? And then I thought he was joking. And then the next day I saw him again and he's like, you didn't follow me.
Yeah.
Did you have to be like silent?
Like what were you doing for the week apart from being like the CIA asset that you are?
I spent a lot of time meditating.
I'm gonna ignore that comment because I've found inner peace.
And...
Okay, let me put it this way.
It was interesting to go to a place
where they're trying to redefine the very idea
of what success is, but from the country level.
Do you know what I mean?
So these people, for instance, I played a game of poker
where they didn't play with money,
they played with pushups.
That's hilarious.
It was actually, can I tell you,
it was actually the most stressful game
of poker I've ever played.
That's so good.
That's...
Like literally you bet and you go,
I raise you two pushups.
And someone's like, I raise your two pushups,
six pushups, eight pushups.
And then at the end of each round,
people are doing pushups.
There's no money exchanged, same game, same enjoyment, but people are doing pushups.
And you, first of all, you'll be shocked
at how quickly you start curtailing your gambling
when you have to do pushups.
I was like, this could cure Vegas in like a week.
Yeah, yeah.
If you said everyone in Vegas had to do squats
or pushups every time they lost.
This is the best, because now
your gambling addiction looks sexy.
Well, now you know who now your gambling addiction looks sexy
Well now you'll know who has a gambling addiction Yeah, like you'll see somebody with just the chest and no arms and you'll be like, oh he's sick
He's sick poor that we need to pray for him because he got no legs, but he got that chest
Man, you know what I I feel enlightened. And I feel some of that light.
Like I...
No, I feel like you're a hater.
That's what you are.
I'm not a hater.
I really...
I feel like you're a hater.
I'm a hater.
I'm always a professional hater.
I'm always a hater.
But you're different.
Josh right now is just that you are being you.
Josh has stepped out of himself to step in and hate on me.
I'm not hating at all.
I'm glad that you told me about this
and I will think about it sometimes
when I freak out about money.
You know what we're gonna do?
We're gonna take a little break.
When we come back, I will tell you
what would have happened to you a few hundred years ago
if you had this exact same attitude with me.
We're gonna continue this conversation
right after this short break.
When was the last time either of you watched or saw an eclipse?
Today.
You saw the, you went outside and you...
Did you have the glasses?
Look, I'll tell you this right now.
Everybody was trashing Trump for looking at the sun, but I almost did it.
I really did, because I had the glasses, and when the thing was starting, I couldn't see
anything, because the glasses were so good.
And then I started to see a little bit, and I was like, I do kind of want to just take
them off real quick, just get a sneak peek.
But did you take them off?
I did not.
See, not fit to be president.
Christiana, when was the last time you saw an eclipse?
I've never seen an eclipse.
Huh.
Yeah, I avoid them.
It feels too spiritual, too much of a shift.
Yeah, it's, I will say this, it is both the most powerful and meaningless thing I've ever
experienced.
Because it was like, it was one of those moments where, you know, seeing everybody outside for the same,
I don't know, there was a,
the last time I saw New York like that
was during the pandemic.
And so in an emotional way,
it was really wonderful to see everybody outside
for something that wasn't morose,
something that wasn't sad, something that...
It was just people gathered together to look at the sky,
turn dark for a moment, and enjoy.
Like everyone, I mean, like construction workers,
high school kids.
Literally, I was riding a bicycle through New York,
watching it the whole day, and it was just,
everyone was just standing on the side of the road with,
I don't know where they all got them all by the way.
That I will say is like weird.
Everyone in New York had eclipse glasses and I don't know where they got them from.
I don't know where I got mine.
It's very suspicious.
I think a lot of people are going to have some long term vision problems because nobody
knows where they got their glasses.
But I started reading up on everything
that the eclipse has meant for humankind.
It's amazing, like you say, like wars.
There was a war that was spoken about,
like back in the day, I think it was the ancient Greeks,
and they basically, they had a truce,
because they were just like, yeah, man,
even the moon and sun don't want us to fight.
And then they just stopped fighting.
That's beautiful.
Yeah, yeah.
That is so beautiful. And then to you earlier when you were trashing me with my poker push-ups,
if this happened back then, I could have killed you during an eclipse and no one would have
said anything, Josh.
Why wouldn't they have said anything?
Because it would have happened during an eclipse. An eclipse was what, like, so that's the thing
I learned. The eclipse was the perfect like, so that's the thing I learned.
The eclipse was the perfect time to end other people
because during that period you could say you were ending it
for the eclipse or because of the eclipse.
So if you killed somebody during an eclipse back in the day
and then people like, what did you do?
And you're like, yo, the demon Beelzebub took over
when the sun was gone.
And then you say to people, I would never, you know me.
Come on man, you know me.
Have I ever killed anyone?
Yeah.
If you kill me over a comment about the poker pushups, you were waiting to kill me.
Like the eclipse had nothing to do with it.
No, no, no, no, no, Josh, please.
If you haul off and choke me now, oh, you've been waiting.
No, no, maybe. No, Josh, please. If you haul off and choke me now, oh, you've been whitening. No, no, maybe.
No, no.
I don't know.
I just liked it.
I was sad that not everyone got to experience it everywhere in the world because it was
just like a moment over the East Coast of the evil Texas, sort of like the East of, you know?
They also didn't all look the same.
Did you see that?
Like the one, the eclipse in Mexico was a little redder than ours.
That's racist, Josh.
That's racist and I cannot believe, Josh.
I cannot believe that you would take this moment, you would use the eclipse Josh, to further your ideas of
superiority and supremacy.
Josh just said, y'all ever notice how the Mexican eclipse looks a little red?
Wow, Josh.
I said red or not.
I didn't say darker.
I said redder.
Very problematic.
Josh Johnson.
I'm just throwing it out there that everyone doesn't have
the same eclipse experience. Why? Because the eclipse in Mexico doesn't have a job? Is that
what you're saying Josh? I did not say that at all. What are you saying Josh? I was just saying that
I think it's beautiful that all over the world just because you're here this New York eclipse
is not the same eclipse as another eclipse and another eclipse. Some of us, Josh, we don't see colors in eclipse.
Yeah, because it's blacked out.
I didn't even see that it was black.
One of the worst stories and also one of the best stories,
I will preface, because it's interesting,
was Christopher Columbus.
He got to the Caribbean,
him and his men landed on the shore.
The people at the time, like, say Jamaicans for now,
like, you know what I mean?
Jamaicans were like, yo, what are you doing here?
And he was like, well, we're coming here to do our thing.
And they were like, no.
And they had a huge fight, and there was a bit of a war,
and they were winning.
And then Christopher Columbus remembered that the eclipse was about to show up war and they were winning. And then Christopher Columbus remembered
that the eclipse was about to show up in like a few days.
And then he said to the Jamaicans, he was like,
my God will punish all of you for what you have done
if you don't repent.
And the Jamaicans were like, what are you talking about?
And then the eclipse happened and the Jamaicans were like,
damn, God is on his side and the rest is history.
I mean, I would do something similar
just because if you go back to medieval times,
the only people who could read
were also people in the church.
So then a lot of science also came from the church.
So there were people dabbling in both at the same time.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And I would be like,
ooh, God, man, look at that.
He heard you owe me the 10.
Hehehehehe. Cause when I talk, God, listen, I told him heard you owe me the ten. Because when I talk, God listen, I told him how you owe me the ten and you acted all big
and bad, you don't want to pay me back because you're bigger than me.
You're using an eclipse for ten dollars, Josh?
Shillings, probably.
Okay, my bad, my bad.
I didn't know this.
During an eclipse, animals don't know what's happening, right?
For the most part.
Nocturnal creatures have woken up
because they think it's nighttime.
Birds shut up during,
this happened for real in New York, by the way.
I was in a park, birds were chirping, chirping, chirping,
and then silence.
Doesn't that creep you guys out?
It is, it is creepy.
I get so spooked out by,
that's why I stayed in my room.
I don't want to be around it. I just want to pretend it's not happening. What are you spooked out by, that's why I stayed in my room. I don't want to be around it.
I just want to pretend it's not happening.
What are you spooked out by?
You know, I was raised by Africans who believed
that Christ rose from the dead in three days.
So I just like, my sense of reality is not like everyone else.
I'm going to heaven, I don't know about y'all.
But like, I'm like, oh my God, I just,
that kind of stuff creeps me out.
My husband's gonna be so embarrassed when he listens to this because he was like, you
need to believe more in science, which I do.
I vaccinate my kids.
However, eclipses creep me out.
Like you being like the birds stop chirping.
They do.
Yeah, they do.
And animals come out of certain areas.
I'm like, nature is far more powerful than I want it to be.
I hate nature.
That's the issue.
You know, when you talk about it being scary or any of these things, in South Africa right
now there's an ant, I want to say epidemic.
If you leave anything anywhere, you've never seen this many ants in your life ever.
When I went home recently, I experienced this first time.
It's like Gilligan's Island type ants.
They will lift you up and they will move you around.
I'm not even joking.
You've never ever, ever seen this many ants in your life.
So everyone in South Africa has been going,
why are there so many ants?
What's happening?
Where are the ants coming from?
It seems like the devil.
Something's going crazy.
You know what I mean?
And then around the world, there's been all these stories
of either animals acting strange or tides being different.
Then you had the earthquake
right in Taiwan and people were like oh yeah there's earthquakes cut to New York had like a
four point something earthquake and people didn't even know which way to go do you run up do you run
down do you run yeah like in LA because like if you're in California, they tell you what to do when there's an earthquake
because they're earthquake ready.
In New York, people just...
Yeah, we built buildings high, all cocky.
Yeah, but some people are saying that the world might be ending.
And I don't know.
I mean, I really hope not, because things just started to go well for me. I need at least four or five more years of earth.
And let me see where I take this thing.
You one of those, you one of those people.
If the, if the world was ending and you knew for a fact that was ending in a week,
would you do anything different in your life?
I would probably go to England. That would be it. But only for a couple days and then I'd come back.
England is kind of like Oliver Twistie right now, so I wouldn't want to be there for too long.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. You're gonna go there for a few days? The world is ending in a week?
Yeah, I'd go there for a few days and then keep living my life the way I've been living it.
Wow.
Because I feel like I'm living the life I'm supposed to. Do you know what I mean? I'm raising my kids.
Yeah. I'm doing work. Why would I do these things. Wait, wait, wait, you would still go to work?
You would still go to work if they told you the world is ending in a week? I like writing. I
actually like my job, Trevor. No, no, no, no, no, that's not what I'm... I'm with you. I think if
I thought the world was ending in a week, right, I would go, my girlfriend and I would go see my mom, right?
I'd go hang out with my mom, I'd do a show in Atlanta.
Then I would take Sally and my mom to Botan
and I would play poker for pushups
until my arms fell off, really.
Like I might have a...
Until my arms fell off, really. Like, I might have a...
I don't know if I envy you or if I feel sorry
for both of you.
The world is ending in a week.
There is no one you would cuss out.
There is no thing you would do.
But I cuss people out anyway, Trevor.
When you look like me and you just say how you feel,
I'm cussing people out.
Okay, that's different.
I'm YOLO about cussing people out. I'd also buy a sword. Now this is what I'm not gonna say how you feel. I'm cussing people out. Okay, that's different. I'm YOLO about cussing people out.
I'd also buy a sword.
Now this is what I'm talking about.
Yeah.
What kind of sword?
What type of sword?
We are talking a full on saber.
What are you doing with them?
I'm just walking around with them,
letting people know what's up.
Trevor, what would you do?
Yeah.
If there was a week left,
whew. Yeah.
Okay, there's a few things I would do. I would take crack. I would take heroin
Take crack is
What do you what do you mean?
No, that's the most CIA thing I would take crack
This is I feel like you wait, what do you do? What do you do?
You smoke crack.
I can't believe, you sound like the most wired up person right now.
I would take crack.
Wait, you smoke crack?
Yes, I smoke crack.
How's the difference between taking crack?
Yes!
Because you don't imagine if I was like, I'm about to partake in some alcohol.
It sounds-
Josh, that's what you say every weekend when we go out.
What are you talking about?
No, no, I've never said that.
What are you talking about?
Take crack.
You said I will unleash myself upon other people. If I took you somewhere right now, if I took you where I? No, no, I've never said that. What are you talking about? Take crack. You said I will unleash
Take myself upon other people if I took you somewhere right now if I took you where I grew up
Yeah, so we go to like the Sonya quarters of Alexandria, Louisiana
Right, and if you say to the dealer, I'd like to take crack. We will be shot
All right fine, I will smoke crack thank you and I will smoke heroin no We will be shot so fast. Alright fine.
I will smoke crack.
Thank you.
And I will smoke heroin.
No, you can't smoke heroin but you gotta.
No, Trevor, you inject heroin.
Trevor, I told you he's CIA.
I knew this.
If I was CIA I would know all these things.
No.
I would know all of these things.
You're too busy going to Butan and.
Okay, okay. Look, either way, so I would do heroin, I would do crack, I would take a of these things. You're too busy going to Butan and- Okay, okay.
Look, either way, so I would do heroin, I would do crack.
I would take a shit on the sidewalk.
This is something I've always wanted to do.
I just think there's some occasions
where you're going somewhere,
and then I hate the whole, do you have a bathroom?
Can I use your bathroom?
And then they give you that giant key
with the heavy thing on it, and now you're at their mercy,
and then you have to buy something.
Do you want the code for the dog?
I just think sometimes it would be nice, just like a dog,
to just like find a spot, do your thing,
look at people while doing it, and just keep on moving.
The world is ending in a week.
Remember all of this is happening.
I would do that.
Yeah, that's true.
Six-five, like a six-five dude,
I'm gonna act like I want to high-five, right?
Because they love that, because they think I can't
read they think it's like touching the rim so then they're gonna they're gonna do this right and then
right when they do this I'm gonna punch them in the balls hard as I can yeah yeah now it's my height
doubled over yeah you know who is six five you could try that with. It's The Rock.
You know, there's a thing...
Save that thought, okay. Because we're going to talk about him after this.
Don't go anywhere, because we've got more What Now after this.
So, if you haven't followed the story and you've somehow managed to avoid it, so Dwayne the
Rock Johnson made a special appearance at WrestleMania.
He came back to compete.
He's 51 now, so it's pretty special.
Came back to compete.
WrestleMania is really taxing.
The last time he was there, he got badly injured.
Anyway, he goes back.
It's triumphant.
It's an amazing return.
But this thing gets overshadowed by the fact that The Rock goes on Fox News and says that
he will not be endorsing Joe Biden.
Everyone goes crazy.
People obviously Fox fans are like, yeah, that's it.
Joe Biden is screw up and screw him.
And then people who are pro-Joe Biden are like,
why would you do that to us, the rock?
Okay, here's what's weird to me, a few things.
First of all, he says he's not endorsing Joe Biden,
and he says he's no longer endorsing anyone.
So he's also not endorsing Donald Trump.
So I don't understand why that's not a headline.
But for some people, it's an addition by subtraction.
So they're like, you endorsed Joe Biden last time,
and now you're not, so you're at least coming closer to me,
is how people see it.
I see that, I see that.
Yeah, it kind of worries me a lot
that people take their voting guidance
from a wrestler turned actor turned somebody who...
Turned businessman turned everything.
You know, like guys, once Donald Trump became president, all bets were off.
Sure. Like, I'm sure, but I think...
Yes, I'm biased because The Rock was on this podcast.
I am biased because I've spoken to him.
But I think he would be more considerate as a president
than many presidents America's had.
I think that that would be incidental.
I think that if you, how about this?
I don't know how to fly a plane,
so no matter the intent I have,
when I try to take off,
I'm still gonna kill everybody when we try to land.
So just because he's more considerate
doesn't mean he's more polished,
doesn't mean that he's more understanding of policy.
Just do-
Guys, I hate the celebrification of politics.
I despise it so much. I agree with you.
I hate that people take so much guidance from,
like, it drives me up the wall
that people even care what he thinks about politics.
Like, I really would like wrestling guidance from him,
working out guidance from him, business advice from him,
but I don't necessarily need his opinion on how I should vote in a school board election.
And the fact that so many people do care what The Rock thinks, very worrying.
Well, first of all, he is the people's champ.
Let's start with that. He's the champ of the people.
But secondly, no, but here's where I'll give him credit.
He's never told anybody how to vote.
In fact, he's done quite the opposite.
Even in this interview, he's essentially saying,
he's essentially saying he doesn't want to participate
in politics anymore because he saw that all it did
last time was basically just get him hate.
But I would say, this is my thing with that.
I have no problem with anything he said except for that.
Because the thing about division
that I think a lot of people don't understand,
and I'm not trying to take him specifically to task,
but I wanna use-
Take him to task, Josh.
Okay, I do.
Go, go for it.
He's not here.
What's he gonna do?
Yeah, come here, he won't.
Beat you up?
Yeah. I hope you got your saber ready. You look at The Rock. He's not here. What's he gonna do? Yeah come here. He won't
I hope you got your saber ready. You look you look at the rock. The rock is from Hawaii, right? Right Okay, so he's from Hawaii and there are there both people in terms of politicians and people in terms of corporations
That want to take as much land as they can from from the people of Hawaii and use it for other things
and don't care what happens to the people.
I imagine he would stand against something like that.
So when he stands against something like that, he's not causing division.
Because that's what someone would say.
They'd be like, oh, we're just trying to bring jobs to Hawaii and you're over here causing
division.
Do you see what I'm saying?
Yeah, I hear what you're saying. And so I think him endorsing Biden,
I think that like that didn't to me cause division.
He just said who he was voting for
and to your point didn't tell anybody else who to vote for.
But now he's worried about causing division
by just saying what he's doing.
And I do think that a little bit of that
is worrying about the check first. I don't think he's necessarily- I think what he's saying is he's doing. And I do think that a little bit of that is worrying about the check first.
I don't think he's necessarily... No, but I think what he's saying is he's
causing division in his life. I don't think he was saying he caused division out there.
He's just causing division amongst his fans and his people and you know?
I don't think division is intrinsically a bad thing, right? It's just how we deal with division
and how we deal with conflict. So I didn't,
that kind of rubbed me that part where he's like, oh, it called division and calls. I
just think those conflicts can be useful. My real issue comes back to, I do not believe
in the theater of public ideas that we have.
I agree.
That the Rock's opinion should hold that much weight. It really worries me because there
are like, for instance,
if you are a mother that you send your kids to your local public school, if you're in
an area that's deprived and you're dealing with bad roads and bad schools and, you know,
bad housing, we don't care what those people think. And those people have opinions about
who their elected officials should be, right? And I think we listen to the wrong people
in this country. And it's not just unique to the US.
Around the world, there's become this celebrification
of who I want to take my political opinions from,
an influencer on Instagram.
I don't care what that Instagram thinks about some sort of conflict.
What the hell do you know?
Why do you have to pop it?
You know what I mean?
I think we just demand this.
I feel actually bad for The Rock that we demand this of him to endorse somebody. I agree with that actually.
Because I don't think he knows any better than anyone. And that's what kind of annoys me. I
don't actually care who he votes for. I care that we demand somebody like that to actually say what
they feel politically, because I don't think they're any more sophisticated than your average person.
And maybe we should listen to experts.
Will that maybe be a good thing?
I also think, and maybe this was taken or this was inspired a little bit by the eclipse.
I do feel like maybe, just maybe, we should consider the possibility that it is better for some
things in society to remain impartial slash, you know, non-party affiliated slash.
I think it might be nice for the world to just go, the rock is just the rock.
Whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, the rock is just the rock. Whether you're Republican or a Democrat, the rock is just the rock.
Maybe it's nice to just, you know,
share these things as people and not have,
because to your point, Christian,
if we don't want or think that these people
should have an outsize influence
in how people vote or don't vote,
then maybe there's some merits to them
just being the thing that brings people together.
Like imagine if during the eclipse, at the peak of the eclipse, all of a sudden the eclipse was like, vote Trump.
Yeah.
First of all, I'm voting Trump. I'm just gonna let you all know that it's happening.
Yo, the eclipse said it.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And now, as Trevor, there's a part of me that will be like, what does the sun know about American politics?
Yeah. So I'm on the other side.
I'm actually on the, like, I believe the inverse.
I don't think we need to de-politicize any celebrity.
I don't think you need to de-politicize yourself.
I think people need to accept that we're more than our,
it gets complicated.
That you can really like The Rock.
It's hard.
As an actor.
It's hard.
It is hard, but you can like him as an actor.
You can like him as a father and his work,
but you may not like his politics
because it's just like, that's what it is.
There are people who I know,
like politically I really agree with them,
but I think they're kind of bad people.
I don't like them.
I don't want to be at a dinner party with them.
Even though they're politics on paper,
we agree completely.
But I'm like, I actually don't think
you're a decent human being.
And I think we need to be able to allow for that in a society where we're like, okay,
the rock votes for so-and-so, does it change how I feel about his work a bit?
But I have to accept that's who he is.
And I think if we could live in that nuance, it'd probably be a better world.
Here's what, okay, here's, I agree with the sentiment of what you're saying. The reason I don't think we can do that is because politics fundamentally at some point
makes some people feel, whether it's real or not, that their lives are being threatened.
Right?
So, I think it's hard to say to people, hey, ignore how the rock or somebody else is voting or has voted.
When you believe that their politics inherently threatens who you are, like actually are.
Yes, yes.
So I'm not saying to ignore it.
I'm not saying to ignore it.
Yeah, but I'm saying you might have an ability that most human beings do not.
The ability to ignore or to be able to put aside how somebody has
voted, I don't know how many people-
No, I include it in the- I don't put it aside.
I think that's-
You make it one of the things.
I don't know if it's like the sum of the parts.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's part of the thing, right?
I'm saying that's special.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's just, no, I just think if we're gonna be really human and accept the messiness of what a human being is,
you're gonna know it's not always gonna be coherent.
And I think we live in a time
where people don't wanna live with that incoherence
or that paradox, and they wanna pretend
that people are just one thing.
So here's the thing, I agree, that's why I say,
I agree with the sentiment completely.
But growing up in South Africa was interesting
and weird for me in that I got to see democracy for the first time in a country.
Not many people have lived through that experience, right?
So in South Africa, in 1994, we had our first elections ever where everybody could vote.
And I remember I was a child and it was the biggest thing ever.
Lines that, I mean, like, it looked like the whole
of South Africa was going to a Taylor Swift concert.
Let's put it that way, right?
The biggest message was, your vote is your secret.
Your vote is your secret.
And I remember I didn't understand it.
I was like, why should your vote be a secret?
I mean, like, and it was almost agreed on.
All the black people were voting for the ANC
because this was the party that had liberated them,
et cetera, et cetera. But still, people were like, the ANC because this was the party that had liberated them, etc
But still people were like your vote is your secret your vote is your secret
and I remember asking I was a teacher or somebody has like why is your vote your secret and they were like because
If people know how you vote
You may not be able to continue voting that way
Because they might want to kill you or threaten you.
And obviously in South Africa, we had a lot of political violence, right?
But the thing that stuck with me was just this idea of how, I don't know, it's a weird,
in many ways I think of it like this. Politics is a lot like sex. Everyone has their own proclivities.
There may be things that you believe in politically
that I don't agree with or that are strange to me,
but I think if we know all of these things about each other,
it's a lot harder for us to exist in a society
where we take each other as whole human beings.
It'll be very hard to look at Josh the same way
when you know that he uses a saber during
sex.
Do you know what I mean?
Yeah, when you know I have that thing.
It's like it just changes how you are with people.
And I don't know, I feel like one of the things that's hurt America is the fact that now people
start conversations with their political affiliation.
Whereas before, I remember even in my lifetime, it used to be a thing where people didn't,
if you said, how did you vote?
They'd be like, oh, come on, hey, hey, hey, hey.
Hey, that's not how I.
Used to be more like sex.
Yeah, yeah, people would just.
So what position?
Exactly.
Oh!
Hey, hey, that's between me and my wife.
Yeah.
You know, I don't think that's appropriate.
Yeah.
And I think there's something valuable in that.
I think there's something valuable
in us not knowing how every
only because only because
Politics is inherently a polarizing thing and I think there's something valuable in living in a society where we go
I don't know how you vote
Let's go and vote honestly in private and then let's see
What the country and the people actually feel like, and then we work from there.
Does that make sense?
No, it does. It does make sense. And I think that when it comes to The Rock or any other celebrity,
there's two main things at play. One is that there's no way word for it, but it's basically we want every great athlete
to be Muhammad Ali. Because Muhammad Ali took everything that he had as far as like clout as far as
fame and everything. Yeah. And he put it towards things that he believed in and gave speeches
and he happened to be a great orator and he happened to be well well read. So it's like
we kind of got everything all at once. But then you turn to the next boxer next to him.
Right. So second best boxer in the world. And he's like, I punch.
That's really all I do, right?
And that was okay at that time.
Like Muhammad Ali was doing all these big things
that were outside the arena of sport.
And other boxers were just sport, right?
But I think that now, and I mean,
I'm kind of coming down on myself and just the whole country.
We don't love to like read or find these people.
So then it's kind of easier to package them
in people we are already watching.
Like you're already watching WrestleMania
more than you're watching a debate about Israel-Palestine
with two people who are experts on the history
and the politics.
So then if The Rock says something about Israel-Palestine,
you're more inclined to listen
because you're already watching him.
I hear what you're saying,
but I think what we should never take for granted
is the power of embodiment.
This is a man who has come from nothing,
has worked really hard physically and mentally,
and he's brought people together,
and he exists in different worlds,
and he is also a biracial human being who's combined America
but then also the Samoan heritage
and it's all these things, do you know what I mean?
So there's all these pieces that sort of come together
and I think that embodiment makes people go,
that is what we want our country to represent.
Like one of the weirdest thoughts I've had is I've gone,
I sometimes feel like America could do with a royal family as well.
Like America should actually get a royal family.
Because I sometimes think what happens in America is,
America's looking for the embodiment of what America is,
and they're putting that on the president,
but that job is really just supposed to be like an administrative role.
You're the regional manager and you manage a region called America.
Yeah, yeah.
I think the royal family and this idea of embodiment is a good one because I think as
much as embodiment, I think there is a certain type of American and a certain type of Brit
who needs a public figure that makes them feel like the country is
harmonious. And the royal family is a great example because when I really, really think about the
royal family and the fact that I speak with this accent, it's a result of trauma and pain.
You came to West Africa and you plundered it. You created Nigeria, you raped it, and you put your face on our money,
and then the country is in such a bad state, my grandparents and people like my grandparents
and parents had to move to a different country, right? And when my parents were born, they were
born under colonial rule. They were born before Nigeria had become independent.
Yeah.
So for some British people who can sing Robertania and
who can sing God Save the Queen and now God Save the King, when they see the royal family,
they do see that embodiment, they see that fantasy of harmony. But underneath it, underneath
these symbols, wherever they are, whether it's the rock or the royal family or a president,
there's always something darker there. Even the rock, he may not show us his darkness,
but there is an inherent conflict in him.
But people want this fantasy of embodiment and harmony.
And I think The Rock is actually the perfect example,
because him saying, do you know what, I'm gonna shut up,
that does embody a lot of America is doing right now,
where they're like, I'm just gonna keep
what I really think to myself,
rather than be able to live in the discomfort and have the messy conversations.
Okay, so let me ask you both that question then.
Do you think that the idea of cancel culture slash wokeness, I mean, like, let's just use
these terms loosely and throw them around, because we can debate forever about, I mean, I have my thoughts, you have your thoughts, etc.
But do you think there could be some merit to maybe having like a,
I know this sounds weird, but maybe like an amnesty where we say like, everyone can say what they want,
like a purge, everyone can say what they want for one day,
maybe let's say like every two months or every three months.
We hold nothing against you.
But you can come out and say it.
And because then maybe there's like a release valve.
Because it seems like people might vote a lot louder than they speak.
And that could be causing a bit of a problem because it surprises you when it happens.
Okay, I'll pitch you that that thing already exists and exists all the time
and it goes by anonymity on the internet.
I think that people are consistently voicing everything that they think behind an avatar.
Like, I don't think that there's this story that we tell ourselves
so we don't have to feel as bad later,
that the internet got us all riled up and made us do whatever this person as far as cancellation.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I hear you.
I think that by and large, everyone already felt that way, and then they just let it out.
So I agree and I disagree.
I think the internet creates an environment where people are prone to let out a part of
what they think,
but it is not them and it is not how they fully think.
I think there are a lot of people on the internet who say things just because it's what's happening and people are going crazy.
There is a part of you that is caught up in the moment that isn't a representation of all of you,
whether it's a collective fear, whether it's all of you, whether it's a collective fear,
whether it's a collective anger, whether it's a collective joy.
Sometimes 100,000 people are storming and they're terrified and you're there and you're
like, I'm also terrified, but you weren't really as afraid as maybe you would have been
on your own.
Does that make sense?
Yes.
And I think what the internet has done is it's created an environment where people express
a part of themselves that is welcomed by the group and the mob.
And then what happens is because of the internet and because of the platform and the way it
looks, we are only exposed to that in a collective.
Half the people who are like racist on the internet, and I know this is a strong thing
to say, I think half of those people aren't even like real life racist, like they just found a place
where they can go out and say something that'll hurt someone and then they sort of get to
put it away.
I'm in between both of you actually.
I think there's something to Josh saying that the internet brings stuff out of you.
I think Trevor to your like thought experiment of that day where you can say whatever you want, it's actually very hard in person to say something really degrading to a stranger.
Even if you're going to say a bad thing, you're not going to say the worst thing as you would
online.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I agree with you.
And I think there is something to, like, that in-between phase of, like, radical honesty,
but when you do it in person, I think you're more careful, because then you're just seeing the person's physical reaction. And like most people aren't
sociopaths. If you see that you've said something that's hurt someone, you're gonna react to it,
and it changes the whole interaction. Whereas when you're on online and you're just being super rude
and it's your lower self, you don't actually have to see the person on the other side of the screen.
So to merge your ideas, I think there should be a day where we can be radically
transparent and honest about politics, but you have to do it across from the
table with someone and sit in their reaction.
And from there, that's where it gets interesting.
Everybody should say how they really feel in punching distance.
I like this.
We should, we should create this.
We create a safe environment where once, let's start with once a year. Pilot program. We bring create this. We create a safe environment where once,
let's start with once a year, pilot program.
We bring everybody together.
So we bring those people to the rock face to face
and we're like, here he is, here is Dwayne.
Speak to him.
Tell him how you feel about him
and his politics and his endorsements.
Mr. Rock.
Mr. Rock, I may have said some things in the past that...
Yeah, we just put people face to face and then we see what happens.
Yeah. Yeah. Everyone. Say what you're gonna say to people's faces. Online, let's
just be nice. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And if you see the Rock and you want to tell him
some shit, make sure that you're within punching distance. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And if you see the rock and you want to tell him some shit, make sure that you're within punching distance.
Yeah. Yeah.
Absolutely.
And his punching distance is quite far, so I will probably cheat and take an extra step back.
Well, it was fun chatting to you guys.
Yeah, great to see you, man.
I want to go to Bataan now, Trevor. I'm jealous. I want to go to the monastery and eat the monks.
They don't allow women there.
Alright, well it's been fun chatting to you all.
Let's have a fantastic time this week.
Bury the lead, baby.
No, I'm joking. I'm joking.
I just wanted to throw a grenade into your world before I said goodbye.
I was just like, what is the one thing I could say to you that would spoil this image?
Yeah.
You know me too well. You know me too well.
What Now with Trevor Noah is produced by Spotify Studios in partnership with Day Zero Productions and Fullwell 73.
The show is executive produced by Trevor Noah, Ben Winston, Sanaz Yamin and Jodie Avigan.
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you so much for listening. Join me next Thursday for another episode of What Now? You