Trevor Noah, the renowned comedian, has dismissed allegations that South African Tourism (SAT) will pay him R33m to advertise South Africa in a five-minute commercial. He clarified that he was privately approached to create a campaign, not by SAT.
The Reason Behind Accepting the Job
Noah, who is currently in Mzansi for his tour “Trevor Noah live in South Africa”, accepted the job due to the significant impact the Covid-19 pandemic had on South African tourism. He did not disclose his payment details but confirmed that he offered a discount for this project.
Clarification on the Involved Parties
“I’m not doing anything with SA Tourism. I’m dealing with a private body of hotels, Airbnbs. I helped Swiss Tourism, so I was like, how can I not help my own country?” Noah stated during an interview on 702.
Noah addressed the concerns of corruption, stating that South Africans are so traumatised from corruption on every corner and every topic we touch that everyone thinks everything is connected to corruption somewhere somehow, even something that has nothing to do with the government. He firmly stated that the amount is not R33m and it’s not even close to R33m.
Confirmation from the Tourism Business Council of SA (TBCSA)
Following speculation about Noah being paid a hefty fee for the advert by SA tourism, the Tourism Business Council of SA (TBCSA) also confirmed that the campaign had nothing to do with public funds.
“The money is for an international media buy. Trevor Noah is not getting R33m. He, in fact, offered us a discount on his normal rate,” said Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, the CEO of the TBCSA.