When Jon Stewart’s replacement as host of The Daily Show was announced recently, old tweets were dug up implying new host Trevor Noah was some sort of misogynist anti-Semite—and, even more damning, that he wasn’t funny. But comics rushed to his defence. Who hasn’t had a joke that landed poorly, especially on such an ephemeral platform as Twitter?

The show’s “senior Latino correspondent”, Al Madrigal, defends the new guy, too. But when it’s pointed out to him that we could sift through his own Twitter feed and not find any similar cringe-inducing jokes, he says, “That’s not my style, but you know, to each his own.”

Talking on the phone from his home in Los Angeles, Madrigal continues: “I’m friends with a lot of different types of comedians and they say some horrible shit. There are good jokes, bad jokes.”

He says the difference is that he wouldn’t have put himself in that position in the first place.

“I mean, personally, I would have just deleted my Twitter account,” he says. “I’m looking for an excuse to delete it now! I would have said, ‘See you later, social media.’ So if I got that or any other show that makes me a made man in a job that I can hold down for 15 years, I’d delete that thing in a second.”

He didn’t go out for the job, though. “That’s a really tough gig. But, no, it was not discussed.” Comedy Central opted for “a handsome, 31-year-old stadium comic. I mean, what’s not to like?”

Madrigal is busy enough. He just finished two seasons of the NBC sitcom About a Boy after two-and-a-half years as a full-time fake news correspondent. Now he’s touring his standup show and “writing my ass off” because he recently sold a movie and two TV shows. He’ll also return to The Daily Show for a couple weeks before Stewart leaves in August.

When he was first offered the Daily gig, his young son had recently forged some friendships in Los Angeles. The job would require him to be in New York from Monday to Thursday and commute back home every couple of weekends. “I told my son it was a good opportunity,” he says. “He didn’t understand ‘opportunity’, so I said, ‘This is going to be good money for Daddy.’ He puts his hand on my shoulder and goes, ‘I don’t care about the money. I just want you to be around all the time.’ ”

Heartbreaking stuff, right? Madrigal tried a different tack: “I said, ‘I’ll buy you an iPad 2.’ And he said, ‘All right. Watch out for the hobos, don’t take the subway at night.’ And they sent me on my way.”

Madrigal performed at the River Rock Show Theatre back in 2006, in his third year as a fully professional comic. (He started standup in late 1998 but had a day job for the first five years.) It was a short set on an evening of Latino comics presented by former Vancouverite Cheech Marin. He’s visited the city as a tourist since then, but this will be his first time headlining. And he couldn’t be happier about the venue: the Comedy MIX.

“I prefer a small, underground venue,” he says. “That’s ideal for me. Intimate, well-behaved crowd. I love it. It’s my ideal type of venue. I hope people realize how lucky they have it.” He lists off a slew of his favourite American clubs, all below street level. What is it about the act of walking down stairs that makes a club? He can’t answer that, but tries.

“The acoustics really help,” he says. “I like a low ceiling. I like everybody sort of packed into a small room. That’s the best. If I shoot another special, it will be in a small, underground room.”

And until he lands that dream gig, you can follow him on Twitter @almadrigal and go through his 2,800-odd tweets.

Al Madrigal headlines five shows at the Comedy MIX from Thursday to Saturday (April 23 to 25), with MC Graham Clark and guest Chris James.