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Trevor Noah Clinches Erasmus Prize – First Comedian To Do So After Charlie Chaplin

The wins continue for South African comedian and media personality Trevor Noah as he snags the Erasmus Prize, becoming the first comedian to win the prize in almost 60 years.

That was a significant milestone not just for him but for his country of birth as well. Not surprisingly, since the news broke out of his winning the prize, South Africans have been celebrating him all over social media. With the prize comes a 150 pounds reward, which translates to about R3 million.

The South African won the award for his contributions to the culture. The Citation from the award body recalled the COVID-19 days and how the South African found himself in the middle of it all, as well as other crises around the world but managed to navigate through them brilliantly, bringing a breath of fresh air to a polarised media landscape.

Trevor Noah is not new to prizes and awards, having won several of them already. However, his latest is especially significant because it’s been almost six decades since the award was given to a comedian. It was last won by Charlie Chaplin in 1965 – that is exactly 19 years before Trevor Noah was born. Well, congratulations are in order for Trevor.

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