Why I Admire Michelle Williams

Michelle Williams, the often overlooked and/or over-critiqued member of Destiny’s Child is gaining quite a bit of my respect.  I would almost love to sit down with her and talk about what she does to display so much perseverance and resilience.

Here are my thoughts…

Since joining the group back in I’m-too-lazy-to-look-it-up-to-be-accurate, she has had to hit the ground running; jumping over industry hurdles as well as deal with all the stuff people on the sidelines are throwing her way.

She’s usually the one in the group who’s forgotten about. When she is remembered, she’s either viewed as the butt of the joke, or deemed as the one who’s not as good as Beyoncé or Kelly.

Now, let’s be clear, has she earned some of this reputation…? I’d say yes.

As Donnie McClurkin sang in his famous gospel hit, “We Fall Down, But We Get Up”…that’s only literally speaking for Michelle. After her infamous fall on BET 106^th & Park, I can guarantee you that anyone who knows who Michelle Williams is remembers her iconic fall…and laughed. I’m guilty, I replayed the video the other morning at least 6 times and could not stop laughing. When Beyonce fell, people thought it was somewhat funny, but they more revered how she got back up, kept swinging her hair and sang even harder. She literally and metaphorically speaking, got back up…Michelle is still on the ground from her fall.

Another thing…this Poor Michelle blog. I’m not going to lie…it is funny.  Whoever had the time to put that together has a keen eye, lol. Throughout that blog there are videos and montages of some questionable outfit, performance, and body language choices that Michelle has made throughout her career.

But let’s get back to the point about why I admire and respect her. 

If/when you see Michelle Williams speak publicly about her career, she does it with a smile. She is gracious and confident about what she has accomplished.  She actually has quite an accomplished resume, filled with successful solo gospel and international dance hits. Her theater resume is strikingly accomplished too. She’s the first black woman to play Roxie in the show Chicago, she’s been in the Color Purple, Aida, and now she’s starring in Fela.

I think the real reason that Michelle has to bear the brunt of so many people’s jokes is because of who she stands next to and is often compared to…Beyonce.  Beyonce’s almost perfect persona leaves little room for error. I think when people are pointing and laughing at Michelle’s mishaps, they’re really just connecting to her perfectly imperfectness. Any John or Jane Doe might fall when they’re running around in high heels trying to keep up with Beyonce.

Michelle could be used as a symbol in all of our lives for those times where we just don’t feel like we measure up, but we believe in ourselves and give it our best shot. That’s what I see Michelle Williams doing. She has incredibly thick skin, talent, and the confidence to say – I’m not Beyonce, I’m Michelle.



View Michelle's fall...but she gets back up! GO MICHELLE!!