"Barbara did the selecting and that's probably the most brilliant thing was she put together a group of women, different backgrounds, different experiences"
About this Quote
Credit is the real currency here, and Star Jones is careful about where she spends it. By singling out “Barbara” as the chooser, Jones isn’t just offering praise; she’s naming the power center. In entertainment, selection is authorship. Who gets invited shapes the story before anyone says a word on camera, and Jones frames that gatekeeping as “probably the most brilliant thing” because it determines everything that follows: alliances, friction, relatability, headlines.
The line works because it’s both generous and strategic. Jones elevates Barbara’s judgment while subtly validating the project’s legitimacy. A “group of women” can sound like a casting gimmick; a group curated across “different backgrounds, different experiences” signals intention, even virtue. It’s a familiar defense against the perennial accusation that reality formats manufacture conflict: no, the mix is the point, and the diversity isn’t window dressing, it’s the engine.
There’s also a revealing hedging in “probably.” Jones keeps the praise emphatic but not absolute, a softener that reads like media training: supportive, diplomatic, leaving room for other “brilliant” choices without starting a hierarchy that invites backlash.
Culturally, the quote sits inside a moment when women-led ensembles are expected to carry representational weight while still delivering entertainment. Jones is nodding to the politics of presence (who’s included, from where) and the politics of production (who decides), translating both into a simple claim: the smartest move was putting difference in the room and letting it talk.
The line works because it’s both generous and strategic. Jones elevates Barbara’s judgment while subtly validating the project’s legitimacy. A “group of women” can sound like a casting gimmick; a group curated across “different backgrounds, different experiences” signals intention, even virtue. It’s a familiar defense against the perennial accusation that reality formats manufacture conflict: no, the mix is the point, and the diversity isn’t window dressing, it’s the engine.
There’s also a revealing hedging in “probably.” Jones keeps the praise emphatic but not absolute, a softener that reads like media training: supportive, diplomatic, leaving room for other “brilliant” choices without starting a hierarchy that invites backlash.
Culturally, the quote sits inside a moment when women-led ensembles are expected to carry representational weight while still delivering entertainment. Jones is nodding to the politics of presence (who’s included, from where) and the politics of production (who decides), translating both into a simple claim: the smartest move was putting difference in the room and letting it talk.
Quote Details
| Topic | Team Building |
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