President Donald Trump has threatened to sue comedian Trevor Noah following a joke made during the Grammy Awards that referenced Trump and the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Noah, who was hosting the music awards, made the remark while introducing one of the night’s top prizes. “Song of the Year,” he said, “is a Grammy that every artist wants almost as much as Trump wants Greenland, which makes sense because Epstein’s island is gone, he needs a new one to hang out with Bill Clinton.”
The joke immediately drew a sharp response from Trump, who has long denied any involvement in Epstein’s crimes. While Trump has acknowledged knowing Epstein socially in the past, he has said they fell out around 2004 and insists he had no knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activities. There is no evidence that Trump ever visited Epstein’s private island, Little St James, and he has not been accused of wrongdoing by Epstein’s victims. The US Department of Justice has previously dismissed allegations against Trump as unfounded.
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Clinton has also denied visiting Epstein’s island. In 2020, a spokesperson for the former president said he had “never been” there, and Clinton has not been accused of any related crimes.
Reacting to Noah’s comments, Trump said he would be taking legal action. Writing on Truth Social, Trump accused Noah of making a “false and defamatory statement”.
“Noah said, incorrectly, that Donald Trump and Bill Clinton spent time on Epstein Island. Wrong,” Trump wrote. “I have never been to Epstein Island, nor anywhere close, and until tonight’s statement, I had never been accused of being there, not even by the fake news media.”
He added that Noah “better get his facts straight” and warned: “Get ready, Noah.”
Epstein was found dead in his New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. His death came more than a decade after he was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor. Epstein bought his private island in 1998, and multiple survivors have alleged they were trafficked there and abused.
Trump has increasingly turned to the courts in disputes with media organisations. In recent years, he has pursued legal action against outlets including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. In December, he also filed a multi-billion-dollar lawsuit in Florida accusing the BBC of defamation over the editing of a Panorama programme.
Noah, a South African-born comedian, previously hosted The Daily Show on Comedy Central for seven years and has become a regular host of major international award ceremonies.
