Jessica Williams joined The Daily Show in 2012, when she was just 22 years old and Jon Stewart was still the host. Williams was not only the youngest person ever to join the program, but the first Black female correspondent in Daily Show history. For four years, she's been skewering the news with her acerbic comedy — while bringing issues of sexism and race to the forefront. But the 26-year-old just announced that Thursday's episode of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah will be her last. She's leaving to work on a new project for Comedy Central.
Williams told Entertainment Weekly in an exclusive interview that her departure is bittersweet. “I feel so many emotions,” she said. “I feel like I’m growing up and graduating.” Williams added, "I feel like I’ve learned a lot about myself on the show."
How does Trevor Noah feel about the news? “The sadness I have for Jessica leaving is only eclipsed by the joy I have for her starting her new show,” he told EW via email. That pretty much sums up our feelings.
The good news? Williams' new project for Comedy Central sounds pretty rad. It's a scripted comedy series about "a politically-minded young woman who may be ‘woke’ but doesn’t know what she’s doing," as she describes it. "I’m excited to, in a silly and funny way, be able to explore ideas of feminism and race and LGBT issues." Count us in!
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