When the Brian Williams catastrophe exploded several weeks ago, Brian’s daughter Allison Williams went dark. This is unusual for her, mostly because she’s a young actress on a trendy HBO show and Allison tends to love to be seen and discussed. She’s trying to be a “real actress” and a Fashion Girl. But Allison’s silence could not go on forever. So she came out to some Michael Kors events during NYFW on Tuesday and Wednesday. These are photos from the Kors eyeglasses launch yesterday, and I’m also including some of Allison’s Instagram photos. With the IG pic of Allison and Kate Hudson, Allison wrote “Back at it. Thank you all for the love and support.” But that’s not all! Allison also did a Q&A with Seth Meyers last night and they ended up talking about her dad. Some highlights:
Brian Williams’ suspension: “This has been a really hard time. We have also been very lucky, counting our blessings. We have our health, we have each other. It’s been incredible to experience the outreach from people you love, family, friends, and then people we don’t even know, strangers, just reaching out saying we want him back on TV. It’s been tough, though. Obviously, toughest on my dad, who bears the full burden of responsibility for it, but my mom has been so strong and my brother has been amazing. My dad has always been there for us a 100-percent of the time… so to be here for him is the least we can do.”
She still thinks her dad is trustworthy: “One thing the experience has not done is shake my trust and belief in him as a man. He’s a really good man. He’s an honest man. He’s a truthful man. He has so much integrity. He cares so much about journalism. And yes, he’s a really good dad. I know you can trust him because, as any good daughter does, I’ve tested him on that.”
In 2003, she worried that her dad wouldn’t come back from Iraq in time for a father-daughter dance: “As that date was coming, it didn’t seem like he was going to make it like he had promised. And then a couple days before the dance I was so upset and I got a surprise call from Iraq from my dad and he asked me if I had a date to the dance. So, that’s the kind of man he is and I can’t wait for him to be back on TV and I know many of you guys feel that way.”
Her wedding plans are on hold: “It’s been a very full year. You sort of think, ‘What could possibly come along that would make me not think about this?’ And then I get Peter Pan and I think, ‘Okay, I will think only about Neverland and then we’ll go back to planning our wedding’ and then current events started happening and so that derailed it a little bit, but it has been this really beautiful throughline in our lives. It’s just something we haven’t focused on, but, spoiler alert, we are excited!”
Well, I mean… what’s she going to say? We were in such a rush to hear from Allison, but she didn’t say anything new or controversial. She supports her dad. And she wants to believe that he’s always told the truth. Even when it’s pretty obvious he was (and is?) a liar and a fantasist. I feel sorry for Allison a little bit, but I do think this is funny: “Obviously, toughest on my dad, who bears the full burden of responsibility for it…” She supports her dad but she just wants to stress that: it’s HIS issue. Her dad was awesome when nepotism was helping her career, but now that he’s persona non grata, even Allison wants to stress that it’s HIS issue.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Instagram.
She’ll never be a true fashion girl. She defaults to “pretty” every time and is as bland as unbuttered toast. She has the figure to wear practically anything but always chooses Oscar de la Renta princess dresses. Such a snooze in every way.
Very observant, and true. She seems like a little more put together Lea Michelle in my book.
This commentary seems a little harsh. She’s not responsible for the lie. And it seems to me that she went out of her way to praise him and associate herself with him.
Yeah, I don’t think she was shielding herself, but rather saying that her father blames no one else but himself.
On a shallow note: She looks exactly how I picture her father with make-up on; spittin’ image.
Ha! I thought the same in the header pic.
agreed; commentary seems a little harsh especially given that a lot of people in Hollywood/entertainment world do benefit from nepotism or being well-connected. that being said, it’s kind of far-fetched to expect beneficiaries of nepotism to take responsibility for their benefactor’s mistakes, you know?
also, she does say that her mom bears the burden and is being strong and so is her brother…i just think she didn’t want to make it all about her because if she said this was hard on her or that she bears any of the burden, people would be on her case for “making it all about her.” it’s really a no-win situation.
Very well stated and I totally agree.
I agree. What is she supposed to say? And actually, I forgot she was his daughter anyway. I think the commentary on this one is a bit harsh.
he needed to go away and needs to stay away, that being said i wont blame her for defending her own father.
what i take issue with how she tries to paint him as a man with integrity and love for journalism when that clearly is not true. she should have just talked about how her family deals with it (that never really is reporter, how people close to the person in the middle of a crap storm are dealign with it) and that he was a good father in her eyes.
Well said.
I agree. I can’t fault her for taking his side but she should have stopped short of defending his trustworthiness as a journalist.
Yes. I feel for her having to defend her Dad. It’s such a painful situation for a child to feel the need to protect a parent, especially in such a public and controversial set of circumstances. I don’t know that she could have stopped short of mentioning his trustworthiness as journalist. He’s her Dad.
Agree completely with everything you said. I would defend my father, too, but trying to paint him as honest and a man of integrity is fantasy. Honest people don’t make up stories to prop up their own image. I feel for her, though.
I hate when people lie to us. I know it’s her dad but she could have said “I love and support him” and talked about other things but to say with a straight face “he is a truthful man” is insulting. We all know what happened. He might be nice . He might be a loving father but we know truth is not his thing. Better to not say those words at all Alison.
Many in the media or comics are friends with Lena- her friend from Girls…and I was amazed at how silent they were during this when you know if it was another newscaster they would not have held back.
To me, Brian is a very weak man dressed up in an expensive suit but he has serious issues that he hides behind with his millions.
The term “truthiness” springs to mind when I think about B Williams.
I’m sure she was coached for days on the right and wrong thing to say. The real question is: Where are Brian’s friends at? I mean, supposedly his family was very tight with Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, but they are nowhere to be found now.
As a daughter what else are we going to expect her to say but support for her dad. I understand that. She says it’s his burden but then she says he has always been truthful, honest etc.
He has fooled many people for many years including his family with or without knowing the consequences for his actions. May be he needs lot of therapy and early retirement. May be enjoy the family and “fruits of his labor” for the rest of his life somewhere quiet.
I think she’s correct in implying it’s his issue (if that’s what she was implying at all. I don’t think that’s what she was saying, if I’m honest. I thought she was trying to imply that he actually understands that he must bear the responsibility, not the NBC brass or whoever else in the corporate machinery). She and her brother were teenagers when he made up the lie. I doubt they told him to go out and say he was under fire (or whatever it was he said). So I don’t think she should be expected to be associated with the lie just because she’s benefited from nepotism — she really had nothing to do with the words that came out of his mouth.
I don’t like her as an actress and I don’t care what happens to her dad’s career, but I don’t think she erred in what she said in that instance as a daughter who wants to believe the best of her father. I think her dad committed a bit professional error, but since the error was more professional than personal (i.e Woody Allen) I think it’s understandable that she’d want to continue to believing the best about him. I mean, I do think he’s a little weird as a journalist, and I’m not cutting him slack in his profession, but from a personal family standpoint I find it easier to understand why she’d stand by him than for a family member to stick by Woody Allen (i.e the stepdaughter or whatever she was to him who married him).
NBC wanted a Rock Star anchorman and Brian Williams delivered, big time.
If NBC didn’t encourage Williams to “punch up” these stories then they certainly turned a blind eye to what he was doing.
Williams will undergo treatment for Mythomania and sincerely apologize.
Americans are eager to provide people with second chances and love a good reformation project so I expect Williams will be back on the nightly news.
She’s pointing out how hard it’s been on her father, and prioritizing his feelings over the publics feelings about her, not trying to distance herself from him. That’s sweet of her.
I wonder who all the (non-family) supporters are that she referred to. I thought it was a fairly universally held belief that what he did was wrong and unacceptable and many believe he should not be put back on the anchor chair.
I don’t watch him. As I said before, I’ve never been a fan, and always watched Scott Pelley. Before, Scott, others. I loved Bob Schieffer. But I tend to always be for the underdog. The man has spent his whole life in news, and I read an article the other day of where he came from, how he climbed the ladder, and I think he has low self-esteem regarding his position and getting it, and, yes, a need to become more popular, more likeable, more relatable, more important and part of the story at times. It doesn’t negate a lifetime of work devoted to his field.
I’m not saying he should be hired back or shouldn’t be. I’m just saying I hate to see a man’s whole career destroyed when it also seems the network was complicit in allowing him his tall stories, not unaware. They encouraged and loved all of his appearances on late night shows showing his humorous side and also sharing stories.
I just can’t kick him when he’s down as he’s not a bad man. I hope he gets therapy to understand his need for this, real therapy to dig deep on understanding it, and I wish him well.
+ 1, Jayna. Here’s what I think will be the key to his comeback: NBC will emphasize that he never lied about the actual news, just about his role in covering it. He will give an interview to a sympathetic reporter, and explain that his exaggerations and outright lies came from his low self esteem–he just never felt like he was enough all by himself. Then he will promise the public that he will never again inject himself into the story in any way, and will do his best to earn back the trust he squandered. Unless the ratings bounce back up under Lester Holt, in which case, forget it.
I hear you, Jayna and you’re entitled to your opinion of course, but I don’t think we should be OK with a journalist lying even if it’s “only” about his own experience. What separates “talking heads” from “journalists” is that journalists put themselves on the line and risk their lives to bring us stories and cover events. Lara Logan was beaten and raped in Egypt while covering a story. Bob Simon was beaten and held captive in Iraq. It’s just not fair that Brian Williams would make things up when there are men and women who have risked their lives.
And as far as chalking this up to Williams’ lack of self esteem – he felt confident enough to try out for host of The Tonight Show when Jay Leno retired. He is a liar – point blank.
When I looked at the background of Brian Williams, I wonder if his being a fantasist didn’t have something to do with his never graduating college? It’s one thing not to go to college when you’re an artist or something, but I feel like in Journalism, you need the critical thinking and growth college can give you.
not really relevant, it’s just sad to me because she looked good in the first season of girls and then lost so much weight, becoming the same size almost as Kate Bosworth (Yikes!). Of all the actors out there, she, the Boz, and matthew mcconaughey, Emma Stone i think they have taken not eating too far.
http://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/reviews/a1001/allison-williams-girls/
http://news.health.com/2015/01/08/allison-williams-says-being-analyzed-about-her-weight-
drives-her-crazy/
That picture of Allison with her sunglasses on looks like those modeling shots people buy at the mall. It’s almost laughably bad. I don’t hate Allison even though I don’t think she deserves any of the fuss that is made over her whether it is her acting skills or her singing ability, but she absolutely should’ve stopped at saying that she believes in her dad and that it has been difficult. When she said he is truthful and full of integrity, she took it too far. I understand a daughter wanting to defend her dad, but she isn’t really in a position to do that, even if she was asked about it.
Also – can anyone explain to me why so many people are making excuses for Brian Williams? I read in a local newspaper (NYC) that Brian has allegedly been a liar his whole life and that throughout his whole life, even his childhood before fame, have known him to exaggerate the truth regularly. Why is everyone refusing to be honest and just admit this man is a liar? Because he’s a nice guy? All of his colleagues are going on and on about how he only made a mistake and they believe he’ll bounce back from this, but I don’t think so and I don’t believe he deserves to. Brian Williams took a $10 million yearly paycheck to tell the truth and failed to come through on that, he also tried to take over The Tonight Show when Jay Leno announced he would believing. 60 Minutes reporter Bob Simon just died and reading about and seeing clips of his amazing career during which he risked his life many times makes me feel like a man like Brian Williams who lies about doing the same doesn’t deserve to be considered a “journalist” or taken seriously because he obviously doesn’t respect the profession.
I think Brian Williams was really good at kissing a** of people, including celebs. I think his skills were that he was good at making people warm up to him and feel comfortable with him and trust him. I have some acquaintances like this – great storytellers, great first impression, and I like them until I realize that they are phony and a-holes. People get confused when you change your opinion on somebody, and then all you can do is give them enough rope to hang themselves.
I think she said all the right things. In the end, this is on her father, and she had no control over his need to weave tall tales. IMO Brian williams will be a punchline indefinitely, and I think this has got to be so hard on his family. He has no business reporting the news, he lost that privilege, but I do feel sorry for him. The guy had everything and threw it away.
isn’t it crazy though? You and I would love to make $10 MM a year. so at least he has that money to cover his wounds. I’ve been in brokaw’s shoes where you know someone is a liar but if you call them out on it one-on-one you seem petty and they can always try to cover their tracks. Brokaw could have stopped this I think but he let brian hang himself.