Donald Trump is threatening to sue comedian Trevor Noah over a “garbage” joke made about Epstein island at the Grammy Awards.
The comedian hosted last night’s (February 1) ceremony in Los Angeles, which saw several political comments made throughout, with winners like Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish and Olivia Dean speaking out against ICE and the administration in their speeches.
Trump was the target of several barbs over the course of Sunday’s ceremony, and before the Song of the Year winner was named, Noah quipped: “That 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.”
In a later post shared on the Truth Social platform, the US President hit out at Noah, calling him a “total loser” and warning that he “better get his facts straight, and get them straight fast”.
Epstein was arrested in July 2019 for sex trafficking and was found dead in his jail cell in August of that year, with authorities later ruling it as suicide.
Trump’s friendship with the disgraced financier was well documented, but was said to have ended in the early ’00s. His resistance to releasing the Epstein files – a U-turn on his previous election promise to share them with the public – has led many to speculate that they contained damaging information about the President or those close to him.
A New York Times report shared yesterday identified over 5,000 files contained more than 38,000 references to Trump, his wife Melania, and his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in connection to Epstein.
Trevor Noah takes another jab at Donald Trump #Grammys: “Song of the Year — that 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” pic.twitter.com/quUWEpX4NL
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) February 2, 2026
“Noah said, INCORRECTLY about me, that Donald Trump and Bill Clinton spent time on Epstein Island. WRONG!!! I can’t speak for Bill, but I have 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,” said in his post following Noah’s comments.
“It looks like I’ll be sending my lawyers to sue this poor, pathetic, talentless, dope of an M.C., and suing him for plenty$.”
As well as reserving several jibes for Trump, Noah was also unflinching when addressing his MAGA allies, particularly new found Trump fan Nicki Minaj. The host joked that the rapper – who been nominated for a Grammy 12 times but never won – skipped the ceremony because she was still at the White House “discussing very important issues.”
“Nicki Minaj is not here, she’s still at the White House with Donald Trump.”
— Trevor Noah at the #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/Qynr6qqAV6
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) February 2, 2026
In a stark warning to Noah, Trump warned that other TV channels and presenters hadn’t fared well against his legal might. “Ask Little George Slopadopolus [ABC host George Stephanopoulos] and others, how that all worked out,” he wrote.
“Also ask CBS! Get ready Noah, I’m going to have some fun with you! President DJT.” Noah is yet to respond to Trump’s post.
In 2024, Stephanopoulos agreed on pay $15m to a foundation and museum to be established by Donald Trump as part of a settlement in the defamation lawsuit he filed against the ABC network.
In addition to the $15m, ABC News and Stephanopoulos agreed to issue statements of regret concerning an interview Stephanopoulos had with South Carolina’s Republican representative Nancy Mace in which he repeatedly claimed that Trump had been found “liable for rape”, per the Guardian.
Trump’s war of words with the host follows US Justice Department releasing another tranche of documents related to Epstein on Friday (January 30), with the latest batch including mention of figures including Jay-Z, Pusha T and Harvey Weinstein.
Some three million documents from the Epstein files, along with 2,000 videos and roughly 180,000 images were made public, with the release the latest in a slew of material shared under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a law intended to reveal information collected during two decades of investigations involving the late convicted paedophile.
The latest batch of material marks the largest disclosure by the government since the law was passed last year.
As noted by Variety, mentions of Jay-Z, Weinstein and Pusha T did not come from Epstein’s personal records, nor reports corroborated by law enforcement. Rather, both rappers and the disgraced Hollywood mogul were named in a tip to the FBI, which was archived as part of the Epstein investigation.
NME has reached out to representatives of Jay-Z and Pusha T for comment.
The tip itself does not imply these individuals were ever investigated, nor does it imply guilt for the accusations made. As has been stressed in previous file releases, being named or pictured in the files is not an indication of wrongdoing, and several figures identified in the files and in previous releases related to Epstein have denied any wrongdoing.
Back in December, the first batch of material was released – and includes photos, videos and investigative documents. This came following Congress mandating that the files be released in their entirety by December 19. They were made public just hours before the legal deadline brought about by the passing of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Commentators across the political spectrum then accused the DOJ of violating its legal obligations after it said it would not be able to release all the documents by the deadline.
The DOJ website, where the files are available to view, said at the time that in view of the Congressional deadline, “all reasonable efforts have been made to review and redact personal information pertaining to victims, other private individuals, and protect sensitive materials from disclosure”.
The photos were also undated and presented without context. A number of famous faces are included in the initial batch of files, including former US President Bill Clinton, and musicians Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson. As mentioned above, being named or pictured in the files is not an indication of wrongdoing, and several figures identified in the files and in previous releases related to Epstein have denied any wrongdoing.
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
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