After the premiere of her hit film, Ghostbusters, Leslie Jones (who starred in the film) has received and continues to receive unjustified backlash and hate. You may wonder why this talented beautiful Black actress could possibly receive any type of hate. Did she say something controversial? Are her tweets problematic, her work method unrealistic? Unfortunately, none of the above are reasons for this brigade of hate, and even if she did have problematic tweets or unrealistic work methods, that’s still no reason for what has been done to this poor woman. The truth is, the only reason Leslie Jones is receiving this hate is because she is Black. Her skin’s too dark for society to handle- her nose too big, her hair too short. American society has always had a problem with the Black Woman. If they’re not sexualizing us then they’re abusing us, and we see this in what has been done to Leslie. The same way people fetishize our ‘exotic’ features, they also find a way to make fun of them.
Shortly after her movie release, Jones received this hate in the form of hundreds of hateful tweets. Everything from insulting her African features to insulting her acting to name-calling, yes the racist trolls of the internet sank deep enough to resort to name-calling. We are taught that ‘words don’t hurt you’ but by now most of us know that’s not the case. When you’re called as much names as Leslie was in the span of mere days, then that takes a serious toll on anyone, even more on such a public figure. Of course, very little was done to impose repercussions on the hundreds of Twitter users who partook in this shameful ambush. Support from the public and her fans would have to be enough for the actress to return to social media, although I can only imagine how hard it must have been. We were told that the Twitter management would look into it, but little was done and the consequences especially did not equate the hurt that must have come from the hateful comments.
The harassment continued today when hackers attacked Jone’s website by posting pictures of intimate nude photos (of Jones), and a photo of Harambe, comparing the Black actress to a gorilla. Yup, apparently folks we have just been sent back to the 1960’s. This act was not something that we should take lightly. It’s not some random kids ‘goofing around’. It’s not some intelligent hacker who should be commended.This was an act of terrorism and blatant racism and it should not be tolerated in this day in age. To expose someone’s intimate photos onto the internet is extremely inappropriate and demeaning. Careers can easily be ruined by nude photos, relationships can dramatically be changed. And all this, with the click of a mouse. Leslie Jones preaches self-acceptance and feminism and to attack someone who exudes such positivity is treason in itself. Leslie Jones doesn’t deserve this, she has done nothing to upset anyone and yet she was still attacked. All it took was one tweet for this spew of racism to be unleashed on every aspect of this actress’s media. She prevailed through the initial first Twitter attack, and they were cold enough to kick her as she was just beginning to stand up. Leslie Jones- you are an amazing actress, and we continue to stand with you.
