The blogger who called "bullshit" on comedian Jessica Williams' reasonings for why she didn't want to replace Jon Stewart as host of The Daily Show apologized to the correspondent this week after some tart straight talk from Williams.
"I apologize for being insensitive here. I should have underlined that of course the choice belongs only to Williams," Ester Bloom, who writes for a personal finance blog called The Billfold said in an addendum to her original article slamming Williams' decision.
Bloom originally wrote that Williams had "impostor syndrome," a term that's used to describe the difficulty that women sometimes face in owning up to accomplishments. Bloom wrote a column on how Williams' decision was really a matter of her not knowing her own self-worth, in which she invoked the "lean in" mantra popularized by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg.
"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," Bloom wrote. "Especially since I’ve read so much about Impostor Syndrome lately and that’s so often the language women use."
Just going to say this & then keep listening & learning: I was wrong. I'm sorry. I was flip & presumptuous, & I offended someone I respect.— ester bloom (@shorterstory) February 18, 2015
The mea culpa came after furious speculation over who would (or should) sit behind the Daily Show desk next since Stewart announced that he would be stepping down.
One name that kept emerging from the fray was Williams. But she quickly dashed the hopes of wishful fans. She tweeted Sunday night that she was "under-qualified" and "super not right for it."
Fact 1: I'm not hosting. Thank you but I am extremely under-qualified for the job!— Jessica R. Williams (@msjwilly) February 16, 2015
That being said 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.— Jessica R. Williams (@msjwilly) February 16, 2015
thanks to everyone tweetin at me like . Haha but I'm not like, dead.This is the beginning of my career. I'm gonna troll that ass for yrs.— Jessica R. Williams (@msjwilly) February 16, 2015
Bloom took issue with this explanation.
"Bullshit. 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."
Among other things, the comedian took offense to the writer's suggestion that she was incapable of making her own choices. "No offense, but Lean the Fuck away from me for the next couple of days," she wrote at one point.
@shorterstory @TheBillfold This is incredibly insulting.— Jessica R. Williams (@msjwilly) February 17, 2015
@shorterstory @TheBillfold Because of my choice, you have diagnosed me with something without knowing me at all. For the world to see.— Jessica R. Williams (@msjwilly) February 17, 2015
@shorterstory @TheBillfold Because you have personally decided, that I DON'T know myself- as a WOMAN you are saying that I need to lean in.— Jessica R. Williams (@msjwilly) February 17, 2015
@shorterstory @TheBillfold Are you unaware, how insulting that can be for a fully functioning person to hear that her choices are invalid?— Jessica R. Williams (@msjwilly) February 17, 2015
@shorterstory If I wanted my personal choices for myself deemed invalid, I'd go to a mysoginist. This, quite honestly, hurt my feelings.— Jessica R. Williams (@msjwilly) February 17, 2015
@shorterstory @TheBillfold Also don't call me a "victim"? How can you call me a "victim" for making a choice for myself. I'm sorry but how?— Jessica R. Williams (@msjwilly) February 17, 2015
@shorterstory Is it possible that I know &love myself enough to admit what Im not ready for?W/out regard to what other people want me to be?— Jessica R. Williams (@msjwilly) February 17, 2015
@shorterstory I am a black woman and I am a feminist and I am so many things. I'm truly honored that people love my work.But I am not yours.— Jessica R. Williams (@msjwilly) February 17, 2015
No offense, but Lean the Fuck away from me for the next couple of days. I need a minute.— Jessica R. Williams (@msjwilly) February 17, 2015