Jessica Williams Quotes

Comedy always pushes some buttons, because it wouldn't be comedy if it didn't.

One of the interesting things about comedy is it's tension release, and nothing creates tension faster than anger.

I write what I think is funny and I write from a sense of popping a balloon or a sense of injustice, whether it's about yourself, or whether it's about something else. It's my worldview; it doesn't mean that everybody has to agree with it.

A joke's a very serious thing.

I've always enjoyed making people laugh. But in order for me to be funny, I have to get ticked off about something.

Comedy is all about having a point of view, and it's also about power.

Jokes are grievances.

There's always a message in my comedy.

When you get down to it, at it's root, Comedy is truth, absurdity, and pain. One of my little mottos is: 'Do you remember the Peanuts cartoon where Charlie Brown kicked the football and kissed the Little Red Haired Girl? Neither do I.'

Comedy is a great weapon of attack. It's not a great weapon of support.

Being a comedy writer gives you permission to be an outsider and poke fun at what people think about other people.

Humor's a weapon if you want to make it one.

If you're watching a comedian on television and he's making a political point, I would say he's gotten too serious.

Crankiness is at the essence of all comedy. My wife and I were discussing the different types of cranky. There's entertaining cranky, annoying cranky, angry cranky.

You know, crankiness is at the essence of all comedy.

Humor can be an incredible, lacerating and effective weapon.

Rhetoric does not get you anywhere, because Hitler and Mussolini are just as good at rhetoric. But if you can bring these people down with comedy, they stand no chance.

I think I've been called edgy - but in all honesty, there is a safety in what I do because I'm always the idiot. Unless you're just listening to buzz words and not taking into account the context of the situation, you see I'm always the ignoramus.

When I'm funny is when I'm angriest.

With Portlandia, I don't think our intention is always to find something funny. Sometimes the humor comes from taking something really seriously. We're okay with making somebody feel uncomfortable or uneasy.

When part of what you're trying to get at is the truth hidden under a taboo, or when you want to nail a hypocrisy, laughter is a very useful tool. I want to show the painful side of existence, but there is no question I also want to make people laugh.

The nature of comedy is 'just do it.' But I think what's interesting about it is this joke has been around and why. And it's just saying what's wrong and how wrong can you be if you say it.

My main point is to be funny; if I can slip a message in there, fine.

I think jokes can actually go to places that drama can't.

Comedians are sociologists. We're pointing out stuff that the general public doesn't even stop to think about, looking at life in slow-motion and questioning everything we see.