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Elizabeth Banks launches website dedicated to women in comedy

Elizabeth Banks launches website dedicated to women in comedy

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'If men can do it, they probably learned it from a woman.'

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Actress, director, and comedian Elizabeth Banks has launched a new website dedicated "to [shining] a spotlight on funny women." From Amy Schumer and Mindy Kaling, to "your 15 year old neighbor who just started her own Youtube channel," the site — named WhoHaha — aims to bring together the best female talent in comedy, but also foster rising stars. Like Samantha Bee's diverse writing room, it's an example of where members of the industry are just deciding to say no to the unfairness and imbalance of the status quo.

"This is an opportunity," Banks told AdAge. "There are people doing it really well for boys. I just felt like there was not a place that was doing it really, really well, and specifically, for girls and women." She adds: "We're not anti-male [...] We love boys and men and their eyeballs. There will be lots of boys and men on our site, just not as content creators."

Banks tells AdAge that the site will feature its own original programming featuring herself and other stars. But at the moment, most of the content is aggregated from a number of established series, both from the web and from TV. Browsing around the site, you can watch anything from an SNL sketch about Trump's misogynistic comments; to an interview with Morgan Freeman from Banks' own "Ask a Badass" series; to advice on taking the best dick pics from Cocktales with Little Esther.

Banks says she wants the site to be about more than just content, acting as a springboard for female new-media stars to take the next step. "We need in Hollywood and entertainment those fresh voices, and they need a leg up," Banks told AdAge. "I was told growing up, 'The world is your oyster and you can be whatever you want.' The fact of the matter is, that is empirically untrue for most women. We need those barriers to be broken down by young people, as well as us seasoned pros." Whohaha looks like a good start for knocking down those walls.