There are few things more difficult than landing a stand-up comedy set on The Late Show With David Letterman. Last year, only twenty-two performers were given such an honor. To some, this limited number was seen as a sign of exclusivity, but within the industry, many saw it as further evidence of a bias in the way Eddie Brill did business.

Not exactly a household name, Eddie Brill was hired by the legendary talk show host to warm up the crowd prior to tapings. In 2001, he was promoted to stand-up booker. Late last week, he was given his own feature in The New York Times. I suspect he thought it would be a tribute, but unfortunately, many of his critics have used his own words to cement their cases. Here’s what he had to say when asked why he only booked one female comedian last year…

“There are a lot less female comics who are authentic. I see a lot of female comics who to please an audience will act like men.”

Thanks to those words, Brill has been relieved of his duties by CBS. Out after more than a decade, more than a few careers catapulted in the right direction and a whole lot of rejection notices. The question is whether his termination was justified.

Anyone who has watched a lot of stand-up comedy knows the women he’s talking about do exist. It’s extremely hard for many women to compete with louder and more obnoxious men on stage. Instead of carving out a personality that feels natural, many put on an aggressive façade that feels wrong and off-putting. There are few things more unnerving than watching a female comedian try to trick you into thinking she’s one of the boys, but there are dozens of female comedians out there who have bypassed this trapping and developed their own brilliant and unique style.

The truth is most stand-up comedians are awful. They don’t have an original voice, and they’re not worth watching. Because there’s way more male comedians out there, it makes sense more of them would get booked on Late Night, but only booking one female comic for an entire year, to me, is unacceptable. And that, not his foolish way of phrasing a problem some female comedians have, is the real reason he had to go.

It’s in everyone’s best interests to showcase the talented female comedians out there. Not only does it tear down biases, but it gives audiences a different viewpoint. There shouldn’t be a quota, but there should be a bias toward giving people something new. Let’s hope this new change-up on Letterman provides just that.