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.
https://twitter.com/msjwilly/status/567145287916204032
https://twitter.com/msjwilly/status/567145544699904000
https://twitter.com/msjwilly/status/567146007725887488
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.
https://twitter.com/msjwilly/status/567790586045140992
https://twitter.com/msjwilly/status/567796911995121664
Fellow former Daily Show correspondent Wyatt Cenac also took to Twitter to defend Williams.
https://twitter.com/wyattcenac/status/567753814263214081
The plot then thickened. Time posted the above tweets without any context, implying her message was to her fans, not to this specific blogger.
https://twitter.com/msjwilly/status/567837386525396992
https://twitter.com/msjwilly/status/567838969196584960
Whatever Williams does next, we’re sure she’ll nail it.