Jessica Williams, the youngest and first black female correspondent on “The Daily Show,” will make her last appearance Thursday, reports said.
But the Los Angeles born and raised comedian who attended Long Beach State will continue on Comedy Central.
“Williams is set to soon headline her own half-hour scripted series for the network, as well as pursue other solo projects,” Huffington Post said.
The 6-foot-tall star said: “I feel so many emotions. I started ‘The Daily Show’ when I was 22. I was going to class at Long Beach. When I found out [that I got the job], I was in the cafeteria at Panda Express. I thought I was going to be hired as a contributor, but ‘The Daily Show’ was like, ‘Nah, it’s an election year, we want you to come over here and work full-time.’
So I said, ‘OK, well hold on, I need to do my finals first.’ I picked up everything and moved out of my parents’ house and into New York City. I feel like I’ve learned a lot about myself on the show. I’m 26 now. I’ve learned so much, I always kind of feel like it’s grad school — a sort of continuation of my education.”
Variety added: “Williams joined the late-night program in 2012 and was suggested as a potential successor to Jon Stewart last year on social media after that host announced he would leave the program. The speculation reached such a pitch that Williams took to Twitter to knock the rumors down.
“Comedy Central has a history of working with ‘Daily Show’ correspondents on new projects, including Stephen Colbert on ‘The Colbert Report’ and Larry Wilmore on ‘The Nightly Show.'”
Former Daily Show stars John Oliver left for “Last Week Tonight” on HBO, Samantha Bee went to TBS with “Full Frontal.”