After Jessica Williams squelched speculation that she would be sitting in the Jon Stewart chair, some women criticized her for…well, for not reacting as they would have reacted. Or maybe they felt she was poised to knock down a barrier that women — especially black women — face and that she owed it to her sex to claim that beachhead. Yeah…late night comedy is male-dominated. But Ms. Williams may have other plans for her future and given her age and lack of years in the biz, it's not insulting to women that she says she's unqualified at this time.
Under a heading of "sexist bullshit," one of her critics wrote, "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?" Yeah. You're missing that Jon Stewart did more on that show than just deliver funny material. He set the tone for the program, wrote material and rewrote what others wrote, dealt with the network, selected new correspondents, went on other shows and did interviews to promote and defend The Daily Show and handled a zillion other duties that went with the title of Executive Producer.
His replacement, whoever it is, may not do all that but they'll have to do some of it. This is not a job that every funny person can do…or would want to tackle.
So many criticisms that I see of people in show business fall into the general category of "How dare they not run their careers the way I would?" There were articles faulting Craig Ferguson for not demanding or somehow getting David Letterman's chair. Well, maybe he didn't want it the way you'd want it. Or maybe he did, decided it was ungettable and decided it was better to say he didn't want it. Whatever the reason, he had his reasons.
Why wouldn't Jessica Williams want to follow in Jon Stewart's footsteps? Well, not feeling she's up to the demands of the job would be a good enough justification. So would a concern about the expectations that will be dumped upon whoever gets the gig. So would preferring to maybe follow in the footsteps of Steve Carrell or Rob Corddry or other former Daily Show correspondents who've gone on to pretty fine careers in films or prime-time TV. So would just plain feeling you're still learning to swim and not quite ready yet for the deep end of the pool.
I don't know her specific thoughts. I do know though that I wouldn't insult Ms. Williams by presuming I have a better idea of what's good for her than she does. One of the key tenets of the Women's Rights movement is to not be forced into someone else's template for how all people of your gender should live or think.
Moreover, one of the key points for anyone is not to be forced to move to the next higher level just because it's the next higher level. Years ago, I had an ongoing battle with one of my agents. Every time I was offered a writing job in television, he had this knee-jerk response. He'd say, "I'm going to demand they make you Producer."
I had to keep stopping him. On some shows, it would have meant a few more bucks and a more impressive (to some) title. On others, it would have meant 20% more money for 200% more hours…and the hours would have been spent on administrative responsibilities or dealing with networks or budgets when I'd rather just write. That's assuming I even had the skills to be Producer…and in some situations, I did not.
You do not have to grab every opportunity to move to the next highest rung on any ladder. Sometimes, as per the Peter Principle, you advance to your Level of Incompetence, leaving a job you can do and moving to one you can't. Sometimes, moving up means you embed yourself so deep in a situation, you can't get out or do other things you want to do.
I think Jessica Williams is going to be a big, big star. I don't know where and she and her agents might not be so sure at the moment. Success does involve both talent and sage career management…and sage career management often involves saying no to good offers because they're not the right good offer. And it especially involves not listening to what someone else thinks is right for you. They, unlike you, have nothing to lose by being wrong.