Jessica Lee Williamson

I don't even think he knew she was my mother.

He just saw this woman who had something to say, and he was like, you look like you've got something to say to her.

Why don't you stand up and say it?

And all I could think was like, oh my fucking God, my mother's going to embarrass me so bad right now, like not realizing how badly I had embarrassed myself.

And she stood up and she's, I mean, she's like a talker.

It's like...

She goes on and on and on.

You're just always like, get to the point.

And so she gave this really dramatic monologue on women and honoring themselves and having self-respect.

And I was just dying the whole time.

And then the audience stood up and gave her a standing ovation.

And then on our way out, they were still telling me, like, you can't dye your hair blonde.

You're pretty just like you are, giving me this pep talk.

And this many years later, I definitely did learn something from it in terms of self-respect of not changing myself for a man, but nothing in terms of getting up on a stage and humiliating myself in front of hundreds of people.

Thank you.