Trevor Noah Seethes Over Brittney Griner Sentencing on ‘The Daily Show’: “Bullsh*t”

Trevor Noah tore into Russia on Thursday’s (Aug. 4) episode of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, simmering over the news of Brittney Griner’s sentencing. After the WNBA star was found guilty of drug smuggling and sentenced to nine years in prison by a Russian court yesterday, Noah blasted the country and its legal system.

“This is some bullshit. This is bullshit,” he began. “We all know Russia doesn’t care about what Brittney Griner did.”

Noah continued, “This is the same country that’s breaking every human rights law on the planet,” before launching into a Russian accent and adding, “but they’re like, ‘That woman has vape cartridge, yeah, she’s real criminal!’ Get the fuck outta here, man.”

He then repeated, “It’s bullshit, we all know it,” before shifting to a slightly more positive tone.

“The one piece of good news, it looks like, is that this seems like it’s just a negotiation tactic,” Noah said, adding, “Whoever America has in prison, send them to Russia. Yeah, it seems like they win, but don’t forget, that person now has to live in Russia. Yeah, yeah.”

Turning on his Russian accent once again, Noah quipped, “They���ll get there and be like, ‘This whole country is prison. I miss food in Alcatraz, no!'”

Noah didn’t just place blame on Russia though. He briefly touched on the root of the issue by calling out the WNBA, telling his audience, “This whole thing could have been avoided if the WNBA paid their stars enough that they didn’t have to go and play in Russia in the off season to make money.”

Griner was first arrested in Russia in February when a cannabis vape cartridge was found in her luggage. She had been playing basketball in the country at the time of her arrest, and had been awaiting trial there until she was sentenced yesterday. While Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison, CNN reports that the U.S. and Russia are preparing to discuss a prisoner swap that would bring her home earlier.

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah airs weeknights at 11/10c on Comedy Central. Watch Noah’s full segment on Griner’s sentencing in the video above.