I have bad news for fans of incisive political commentary, badass women, and hilarious hot takes alike — Jessica Williams is leaving The Daily Show . After over four years on the program, most recently as a Senior Correspondent, Williams announced via her Instagram on Wednesday that she's moving on. As a longtime lover of the show myself, this is a tough blow, especially considering how raw the wound still is from Jon Stewart's departure. It wasn't that long ago that I still had my fingers crossed that Williams would step up as Stewart's replacement, so forgive me for my whiplash, here. I'm adjusting to a lot of stuff in the same moment.
Williams first joined the cast in January 2012 as its youngest correspondent ever, and made a name for herself with ballsy, unapologetic segments, particularly on race and the treatment of women. But thankfully, it sounds like we don't have to go without her particular brand of tough love for long — in the caption of her Instagram post, she hints at "what's next," which seems to be her very own show on Comedy Central. The official description of the main character is "a politically-minded young woman who may be ‘woke’ but doesn’t know what she’s doing," which sounds like the perfect fit for Williams. The whole thing is exciting in a bittersweet sort of way, and I'm not the only person who thinks so. Here's Trevor Noah on Williams' next step: "The sadness I have for Jessica leaving is only eclipsed by the joy I have for her starting her new show. If her podcast is anything to go by, it’s going to be an exciting show!" (That podcast is Two Dope Queens , by the way, which she hosts with her best friend and fellow comedian Phoebe Robinson, and it's definitely worth checking out.)
So yes, it's exciting that Williams is moving on to new things, but also pretty jarring, given that her last day is June 30, just one day after the announcement itself. I guess theoretically you could've been preparing for this moment for a few months, given that the development deal for Williams' next project was announced back in March, but I was still holding out hope that she could do both, so I'm pretty bummed right now. Congratulations to Williams, of course, but The Daily Show just won't be the same without her.
Image: Comedy Central
