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Allison Williams Defends Dad Brian Williams, Admits Situation Has Put Her Wedding Plans on Hold

Allison Williams stands up for dad Brian Williams
Allison Williams stands up for dad Brian Williams

Allison Williams has spoken out in defense of her NBC Nightly News anchor dad Brian Williams who has been suspended from work without pay for making erroneous claims about his war reporting from Iraq in 2003.

During a Q&A with Seth Meyers at New York's 92Y, the Peter Pan actress spoke out about the strain her father's high-profile disgrace has put on the whole family, and talked publically for the first time about her faith in the man she insists is "truthful" and "honest."

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"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," she said.

"It's been tough, though. Obviously, toughest on my dad, who bears the full burden of responsibility for it, but 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," she added.

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Talking about that time in 2003 when Brian was in Iraq, Allison recalled being in 9th grade, and realizing her dad would not make it back for a father-daughter dance, as she had hoped he would.

"As that date was coming, it didn't seem like he was going to make it like he had promised," she recalled. "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," she added, before thanking the audience for their applause.

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But while Allison is happy to support her dad, she did admit the current family drama has impacted one important event in her life — the planning of her wedding.

The Girls star has been engaged to marry fiancé Ricky Van Veen since this time last year, but admits they are no closer to organizing their big day.

"It's been a very full year," Allison admitted. "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,'" she explained.

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"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!" she added, laughing.

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