Trevor Noah criticized over ‘tasteless joke’ during Grammys opening monologue

The host has apparently offended some viewers

Trevor Noah has been slammed for making a ‘tasteless joke’ while hosting tonight’s prestigious Grammys Awards ceremony.

It’s the biggest night in music’s calendar, with the 67th Grammys show taking to the Crypto Arena in Los Angeles tonight (2 February) to showcase some of the best talent in the industry from around the world.

However, it’s rarely without controversy and now, South African comedian and TV host Trevor Noah has apparently hit a nerve among some viewers – and almost immediately in his opening monologue.

Trevor Noah made the alleged offensive gag during his opening monologue at the 2025 Grammy Awards (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

The comedian was introducing Shakira when he said the star is ‘the greatest thing to come out of Colombia that isn’t a class A felony’.

The 40-year-old, who is known for his political satire, made the tongue-in-cheek joke after making another reference to immigration, neither of which have gone down particularly well with viewers.

Taking their outrage to Twitter, dozens flooded the social media platform with criticizm for the alleged offensive gag.

One person wrote: “We, the Colombians, are sick of being treated like criminals,” and tagged Trevor Noah to urge him to apologize.

The joke came mere moments after Noah already referenced ’20 million illegal immigrants’, stating: “[W]e are honoring the best in music as voted on by the 13,000 members of The Recording Academy – and 20 million illegal immigrants.”

Another outraged viewer wrote: “Trevor Noah already with an illegal immigrants joke and a Colombia joke in his opening monologue… This is going to be a LONGGGG night.”

Others said they even spotted some celebs in the audience that weren’t keen on the joke either, such as Doechii, who has won Best Rap Album – the third woman after Lauryn Hill and Cardi B to bag the award.