Trevor Noah is American kids’ African darling

Local kid-done-good and global comedy phenomenon Trevor Noah made South Africans proud at the 2017 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards in Los Angeles, California, on Saturday.

Facing stiff competition, The Daily Show host’s charm seemed more than enough for his legion of young fans, securing him enough votes to bag the Favourite African Star accolade in the continental category.

Noah beat fellow South Africans Pearl Thusi and Wayde van Niekerk; Nigerians Yemi Alade and Funke Akindele Bello; and Kenyan Lupita Nyong’o, all vying for the coveted orange blimp award.

Receiving his award on The Daily Show set, Noah said: “Nickelodeon … and the kids!

“Thank you so much for this amazing award; I’m so honoured to be your favourite African star. Thank you so much for giving me this Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award.”

Ellen DeGeneres, Fifth Harmony, The Ghostbusters, Kevin Hart, Chris Hemsworth, Zendaya and Jace Norman were also among the night’s winners.

Hosted by World Wrestling Entertainment superstar John Cena, the spectacle broadcast live from the University of Southern California’s Galen Centre was a celebration of everything kids loved in pop culture.

Living up to the hype of being unpredictable, the awards ceremony proved a mega slime fest.

Big-name stars got their fair share of the “green gunk”.

Demi Lovato went from glam to gunge after being slime-soaked by a smurf; Chris Pratt got a surprise sliming in the Kids’ Choice control room; Kevin Hart was doused with the green goo after his hat-trick win in the Favourite Villain, Most Wanted Pet and BFFs categories; and the Power Rangers (Becky G, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Ludi Lin and Dacre Montgomery) slimed the audience.

Cena got the ultimate sliming on the main stage at the end of the show.

Putting the power of choice in the hands of kids watching the show made for an interactive digital experience, allowing them to choose what happened live by casting votes to determine the outcome of multiple stunts performed by celebrities during proceedings.

– kgosim@citizen.co.za

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