US President Donald Trump threatened legal action on Monday against Trevor Noah, the host of the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, over a joke about Trump and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Noah made the comment shortly after Billie Eilish won Song of the Year for “Wildflower.”
He said: “Wow. That’s a Grammy that every artist wants, almost as much as Trump wants Greenland. Which makes sense because, since Epstein’s gone, he needs a new island to hang out with Bill Clinton.”
Trump responded on his Truth Social platform, calling the joke “false and defamatory.”
He wrote that he has “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.”
He also criticized Noah personally, calling him “a total loser” and describing the Grammy Awards as “the WORST” and “virtually unwatchable.”
Trump added: “Noah, a total loser, better get his facts straight, and get them straight fast. It looks like I’ll be sending my lawyers to sue this poor, pathetic, talentless, dope of an M.C.… Get ready Noah, I’m going to have some fun with you!”
Trump, who was part of the social circles of Epstein in Florida and New York, has spent months trying to prevent the release of documents about him and has given conflicting accounts of why they eventually fell out.
Noah, who is hosting the Grammys for the final time after six years as emcee, has generally kept political humor light in past shows.
