Jessica Williams Quotes

There are funny gay people, and there are funny Indian people, and that's why we watch TV, to laugh. It only makes sense to include all types of funny people, whether or not they're gay or straight or what have you.

Latinos, Asians, African-Americans, women - we're all trying to find our place in this world of cinema and television and theater. And the great thing with comedy is that most of the time, you could be orange. It doesn't matter, as long you're funny.

It's great, because different groups of kids can laugh at each other and still enjoy the show.

I hope that I can get people to read it without having to change it. Especially now that the strip has more different kinds of characters. It's really not all lesbians any more.

My dad knows how to tell a story. He'd make me laugh by doing all the different voices.

You know, 'Cheers,' you didn't have to leave the bar because what they were saying in the bar was important. 'All In The Family' is the same rule. On 'The Golden Girls' they didn't have to leave the table. And 'Friends' - the coffee shop. You can contain it if it's interesting.

Ultimately, when I deliver something, a lot of times it will be from a black woman's perspective, but other times it will be just from a satirical, goofy perspective.

As a reader I want to be present and entertained. I don't want to be taught lessons, and I don't want to be spoken down to. I want to be treated as a peer and to be made to feel welcome.

Audiences want to feel represented, want to be able to empathize with the characters and the stories they are seeing on the screen.

If the writers all come from the same backgrounds, you are going to get the same sorts of characters. Get a broader variety of writers, and you get a bigger range of stories.

The connective tissue between storytelling, advice, and comedy is passion.

Cinema is diversifying; there's room for every kind of cinema today.

The truth is all kinds of people exist everywhere. So let's tell their stories, too.

I think in general, and in the film industry, that idea of having only one type of girl is changing. There's more variety because it's the world we live, and we want to portray that.

Axone', of course, was on racism, but it was also a kind of representation that hadn't happened ever before of the Northeast and the people from there. It was a nicely-written script; it was funny.

One of my favorites is 'Parks and Recreation.' Great show; awesome writing; beautiful, diverse cast. They also have a very diverse writer's room, which I love.

Telling diverse stories is at the heart of our culture.

Using humor as a wedge into different kinds of stories is my go-to. I think anything I do would have some sort of streak of humor in it.

You don't have to underestimate your audience anymore. They'd actually like to laugh a little bit. So, the character came to me and once it's got its grips in you, there's nowhere to go.

I think you gotta have some humor [in your story]. People gotta have a moment to laugh and feel that it's not taken 100% serious. That's important.

First and foremost, I want people to have a good read, because I want everything I write to entertain people. There are always different layers to the story, though, so if you want to think about social justice, or sexism or racism or homophobia, or really drill down into why the world is a better place when the police force looks like the people they are policing, then that's there, too.

I like showing different types of comedy - showing that I could tell a story, or showing that I could do a one-liner, showing I could do stuff about music - so just trying to be versatile and talking about different topics.

I'm a yarn teller. My job is to engage you as much as I can and as often as I can.

When I go into schools to speak, I am not giving a speech - it's really a one-man show. I call it 'didactic standup.'

Fans want to see a story with characters, and they want to see a story.