“Lean the f*** away from me”: Jessica Williams

[BainsBane]

After a week of intense speculation about who would be taking over “The Daily Show,” Jessica Williams addressed the rumors that she was (or at least should be) the heir apparent for host. In a series of tweets, Williams thanked people for the support, but said she wouldn’t be sitting behind the anchor desk any time soon. “Fact 1: I’m not hosting. Thank you but I am extremely under-qualified for the job!” she tweeted. “I am super not right for it, but there are quite a few people who are! Can’t wait to stick around & see what happens.”



Many a crying emoji was shared in response, but Williams made it clear that she was good with where she’s at and with everything that’s still ahead of her, tweeting, “I’m not like, dead. This is the beginning of my career.” A little while later, a writer for the Billfold responded to Williams’ announcement with a piece that claimed she was a “victim” of impostor syndrome, and that she needed to “lean in.”

Williams swiftly defended herself against the accusation:

Are you unaware, how insulting that can be for a fully functioning person to hear that her choices are invalid? Because you have personally decided, that I DON’T know myself- as a WOMAN you are saying that I need to lean in. Because of my choice, you have diagnosed me with something without knowing me at all. For the world to see.

And this is the problem with “lean in” applied as a universal feminist ethos. Like most supposedly universal narratives, it’s incredibly limiting. Sheryl Sandberg acknowledged in the book that she didn’t believe that women “should all have the same objectives” or face the same obstacles, but much of the advice is still presented as inclusive when it’s actually narrowly tailored to a certain kind of woman (namely, white, upwardly mobile and married to, or interested in marrying, a man who is likely the same), working to achieve a certain kind of power while maintaining a certain kind of family life. The book is undoubtedly useful and resonates for some, but, as Roxane Gay pointed out in her thoughtful review, a lot of Sandberg’s wisdom reads something like, “If you want to succeed, be an asshole.”

http://www.salon.com/2015/02/18/lean_the_f_away_from_me_jessica_williams_impostor_syndrome_and_the_many_ways_we_serially_doubt_women/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

“I am a black woman and I am a feminist and I am so many things. I am truly honored that people love my work. But I am not yours,” she tweeted. “No offense, but Lean the Fuck away from me for the next couple of days. I need a minute.”

What a great response.

[sheshe2]

1. And...

In a culture that already serially doubts women, this is, in its own way, just another way we doubt women. As though we can’t be trusted to narrate our own experiences, or as if making a choice that doesn’t match narrowly defined or hyper-specific expectations means we are somehow weak or self-defeating.

Lean the F*** away from me is right. Get the hell out of my face!

Brava to Jessica Williams.

Thanks, great post Bains~

[KitSileya]

2. Unfortunately another example of white feminists not realizing the reality for black feminists

Jessica Williams is quite aware that should she take the job and then fail, her failure won't be her own, it will be all black women's, and all women's. Another thing she is quite aware of, but which Ester Blooms seems unaware, is that the resistance and obstacles she'll face will be 100x what a white woman would face. But Bloom disregards that, and diagnoses Williams over the internet with 'impostor syndrome'. Because Bloom refuses to realize that a 25.year old black woman won't be given a grace period, won't be allowed to stumble, won't be allowed to feel her way forward and learn on the job - and because she is a young black woman she is not allowed to be aware of that, and say no to a job that would be incredibly hard even for a 40-something white comedienne with a long established career, such as Tina Fey, or Amy Pohler. Williams has a much better grasp of her reality than Bloom ever will, and telling her that she doesn't is Privilege 101 material.

TL;DR If Jessica Williams says she isn't ready for the job, we should listen, and hear what she says instead of speaking over her.

[seabeyond]

5. thumbs up. nt

[JustAnotherGen]

19. Brava!

[rpannier]

3. I don't know who is taking that job but I wish them well

I wouldn't want to follow Stewart
I think Williams would have done great and would have held her own in the spot.
I applaud her honesty about it .

It's easy to sit on the outside and criticize her for not pushing for the part. But if it's how she feels about it, why should she leap into something she doesn't want at this point in her career

Agreed: It is a great response

[seabeyond]

4. great response. brain blank? cause now i have to look up who williams is.

i loved how she handled it all the way thru

i like how so many women are just putting feminist in their descriptive of self. i do, now, also.

[NuclearDem]

6. Jessica is a treasure.

[seabeyond]

7. i went in to check out who she is. i am sure she is right. she is just starting up.

too young and inexperienced. give her time to find her mojo. when i saw who it was, i was even more supporting her, her ability to clearly express herself.

it is awesome

[A Little Weird]

8. Jessica Williams is my favorite correspondant

I hope she will remain part of the show regardless of who takes over. I think it would be awesome if John Oliver came back but I don't see that happening.

[mountain grammy]

9. "lean the fuck away from me" is great! Jessica has a wonderful future,

I thought that the first time she appeared on the Daily Show.

[jeff47]

10. It would be interesting to hear why she doesn't think she's ready.

Not being in comedy or show business, I have no way to evaluate that. I think she's funny, and would do a good job. It would be a shame if the only reason was "I'm young".

[seabeyond]

13. she feels she is under-qualified and not right for the role.

Thank you but I am extremely under-qualified for the job!” she tweeted. “I am super not right for it,

[jeff47]

14. Yes, I'm wondering what specifically makes her feel that she is under-qualified.

Not that she owes anyone an answer.

[KitSileya]

20. I'm going to guess that the fact that her career is 3 years old,

and as a improv comedienne instead of a stand-up comedienne has something to do with it. And as I referenced earlier, there would be no on-the-job training, she would be expected to succeed on the level of Jon Stewart with 20 years experience with the Daily Show from the very first day. He has gradually raised the standard as he has gotten better - he didn't start out as good as he is now. But I'm sure Jessica Williams knows that she won't be allowed to even settle for John Oliver's level, because she is not a man. There's truth to the saying that a woman has to be twice as good as a man to be thought half as good as him.

[Sheldon Cooper]

11. To her credit, Ester Bloom seems to have realized how she messed up, and apologized credibly.

ETA: I apologize for being insensitive here. I should have underlined that of course the choice belongs only to Williams. If she had said, “I don’t want the job,” I would have left it there. Her saying “I’m not qualified” is what intrigued me, especially since I’ve read so much about Impostor Syndrome lately and that’s so often the language women use.

Again, I want to emphasize that I have enormous respect for Williams. I think she’s talented and funny and great. That said, Williams is not accountable to either old white tastemakers or, as the also talented and funny Wyatt Cenac pointed out, to young opinionated ones like me. The decision is entirely hers.


ETA II (2/18): I wrote that first apology early on, before I had the chance to read Jessica Williams’ full Tweeted response, and then my feed became overwhelming & impossible to sort through, especially with all the curse words, so I missed a lot of what came next. But now that I’m more caught up, I wanted to state officially and for the record, as I have on Twitter, that I was wrong. I was offensive and presumptuous; I messed up, and I’m sorry. Williams should not have had to deal with this shit: my calling her a “victim” of anything, my acting like I know better and could diagnose her with anything, all of it. Ugh. I’m leaving the post up, because at this point my stupid blog entry is News, and may it live in infamy. But I apologize, again. I am listening to folks and trying to learn, and I will try my hardest to be more damn careful & thoughtful in the future.

http://thebillfold.com/2015/02/on-the-daily-shows-jessica-williams-the-latest-high-profile-victim-of-impostor-syndrome/

I think Jessica Williams' response was great, by the way.

[seabeyond]

12. kudos to her. thank you for posting. right on. a lesson for all of us, both directions. nt

[Sheldon Cooper]

15. Learning to actually listen to people,

and not try to tell them what they really think, is so important.

[seabeyond]

16. i had that conversation with myself just this morning while talking to father.

i am saying the words. really. said it. why am i not heard.

nothing important or a big deal. i just notice it with a couple people when i talk.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

17. thsnks for posting the update/reply.

[KitSileya]

21. Good that she apologized.

Those of us with privilege need to be humble when we're corrected by those with less privilege when it comes to their lived experience.

[F4lconF16]

18. What is this "lean in" thing? I haven't heard it before.

Edit: that, and "impostor syndrome". The article explained it.

Also, Williams is a badass and definitely one of my favorites. Good for her.