Jessica Williams Didn’t Mean Her Loyal Fans When She Tweeted ‘Lean The F*ck Away’

Jessica Williams
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Within moments of Jon Stewart announcing his retirement from The Daily Show, many of us (self-included) began clamoring for one particular host hopeful: Jessica Williams. Williams responded to our desires with a kind but firm no thanks.

One site, The Billfold, wrote a post encouraging Williams to “Lean In” and know that she is just as qualified as anyone else.

Jessica Williams, respectfully, I reject your humility. What on earth does “under-qualified” mean when it comes to being a comedian? You’re smart, you’re funny, you’re self-possessed. Is there something I’m missing?

…All Williams needs is a pep talk. Get Luvvie in a room with her, and Jazmine, and Amy Poehler and Lena Dunham. Get Paul Feig in there too, and Ta-Nehisi Coates, and George R. R. Martin. Get her the best Lean In group of all time. She will emerge as from a funeral pyre, naked and coiled in dragons, ready to lead.

Williams evidently saw this post. And she was not a fan of being told what to do with her own career.

Fellow former Daily Show correspondent Wyatt Cenac also took to Twitter to defend Williams.

The plot then thickened. Time posted the above tweets without any context, implying her message was to her fans, not to this specific blogger.

Whatever Williams does next, we’re sure she’ll nail it.

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