Whether or not you’re a fan of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, it’s safe to say the South-African comedian’s turn as the host of Comedy Central’s flagship late night program is going okay. He and his batch of correspondents have proven this time and time again with segments about everything from the Orlando night club shooting to Donald Trump’s bid for the White House. Besides, the post-Jon Stewart iteration of the series isn’t even a year old, and building a following after a comedic force like that takes time. Though it’s probably going to take a lot more time after a jokey tweet about Monday’s abortion ruling by the Supreme Court.
The tweet in question, which remains online as of this writing, offers some snarky advice for how to celebrate the 5-3 decision to overturn a 2013 Texas law limiting women’s access to abortion. Specifically, it suggests the reader “go knock someone up in Texas”:
The tweet currently boasts over 180 retweets and 450 likes, though that number is expected to climb the longer The Daily Show‘s social media team decides to keep it up. So too will the number of provocative, sarcastic, and genuinely displeased responses from critics and fans alike.
Obvious detractors like Meghan McCain, a well known conservative commentator and the daughter of Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona), offered their two cents:
.@TheDailyShow This tweet is so vile.
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) June 27, 2016
get a conscience.
— Jackie Paige (@JPaigeWWJ) June 27, 2016
So did many Twitter users who identified themselves as pro-choice:
yeah I'm pro choice and that's too much.
— Oolong Musk (@NatsinPA) June 27, 2016
https://twitter.com/zacharybright/status/747509677190062080
As always, the best and most trollerific bits were reserved for those who just wanted to light the internet on fire.
https://twitter.com/ParkerMolloy/status/747517379337347072
https://twitter.com/LisaMcIntire/status/747522616517242880
https://twitter.com/ebruenig/status/747528643157626881
— Brandon Wall (@Walldo) June 27, 2016
https://twitter.com/lukeoneil47/status/747521481236570112
when you're running @TheDailyShow's Twitter and think you have a fire tweet pic.twitter.com/CHidUlKWtW
— josh terry (@JoshhTerry) June 27, 2016
so it turns out that all this time i wasn't watching the Daily Show *on principle*
— Alexandra Petri (@petridishes) June 27, 2016
Celebrate the #SCOTUS ruling! Go respect someone's personal autonomy in Texas!
— Alexandra Petri (@petridishes) June 27, 2016
The Daily Show‘s Twitter account later explained they were “certainly not promoting abortions”:
Friends, we’re certainly not promoting abortions. Just excited about #SCOTUS reaffirming right to choose.
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) June 27, 2016
Of all the things, as Business Insider’s Josh Barro pointed out, it took a tasteless joke about getting people pregnant to unite all sides of the abortion debate for one shining moment.