Entertainment
Entertainment

‘Ghostbuster’ Leslie Jones quits Twitter over racist abuse

Rappler.com

SUMMARY

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

‘Ghostbuster’ Leslie Jones quits Twitter over racist abuse
(UPDATED) Leslie Jones exposes Twitter users who called her a gorilla, among other racist comments, after the release of 'Ghostbusters'

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Actress Leslie Jones has left Twitter after receiving a slew of racist and abusive comments on the microblogging platform.

On Monday, July 18, Leslie, who starred in the recent all-female Ghostbusters reboot, started out blocking accounts that sent her rude or mean comments. (WATCH: 8 Things to know about the all-female ‘Ghostbusters’ reboot)



A few hours later, Leslie decided to post screengrabs of the messages she’d been receiving instead, saying: “Okay I have been called apes, sent pics of *sses, even got a pic with semen on my face.”

“I’m trying to figure out what human means. I’m out… You know, I’m gonna stop blocking so y’all can go through my feed yourself and see the BS. You won’t believe the evil. It’s f*cking scary.”





The 48-year-old comedian then posted screengrabs of the messages, tweets, and photos she’s been receiving. Some tweets even referenced Harambe, a gorilla that was shot dead after grabbing a young boy at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden in May.


 


 


 


 


 

After exposing some of the Twitter users who have been attacking her, Leslie posted a long message on Twitter, lamenting the racist comments she’s received and saying she now knows why some famous personalities don’t have accounts.

“It’s so sad, most of these comments sound like they are from ignorant children. ‘I’m the source of AIDS?!’ WTF!! These people hate themselves. You have to hate yourself to putout that type of hate. I mean on my worst day I can’t think of this type of hate to put out. I don’t know how to feel. I’m numb. Actually numb. I see the words and pics and videos. Videos y’all. Meaning people took time to spew hate.”


 


 


 


 


 


 

“I’ve never claimed to be better or special. I just try to do my job as best as I can. Isn’t that any of us y’all? So yeah, this hurts me! I’m more human and real than you f*cking think. I work my ass off. I’m not different than any of you who has a dream to do what they love. As much as you want to thinks actors ain’t human I want to give you something to think about. I work off pure passion for this game,” said Leslie.

The torrent of abuse comes after the weekend US release of Ghostbusters, which has been lauded by critics but maligned by men who have accused its female stars of being unfunny and of having ruined their childhoods.

One troll wrote: “Don’t let #Ghostbusters bombing get you down. You’re a shoo-in to star in the Harambe motion picture as the man himself.”

Aside from the racist attacks on Leslie, the reboot itself has received a lot of criticism for the all-female cast. (READ: ‘Ghostbusters’ backlash reflects Hollywood’s sexism problem)

Aside from Ghostbusters, Leslie is currently on the cast of Saturday Night Live.


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 

Leslie added that it’s not right to ignore the comments, telling her followers that they should instead speak up against ignorance.


 


 


 


 


 

She also called out to Twitter for stricter guidelines: “Twitter I understand you got free speech I get it. But there has to be some guidelines when you let spread like that. You can see on the profiles that some of these people are crazy sick. It’s not enough to freeze [accounts]. They should be reported.”


 


 


 


 

She also called out a fake account that was pretending to be her and using harsh words against the criticism.


 


 


 

“I feel like I’m in a personal hell. I didn’t do anything to deserve this. It’s just too much. It shouldn’t be like this. So hurt right now,” tweeted Leslie, before signing off from the social media site.

Support

Twitter has released a statement saying it had “taken action” on many of the accounts reported for abusing Leslie after Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey reached out to her. 


 

Meanwhile, Ghostbusters director Paul Feig spoke up for Leslie on his own Twitter account, saying, “Leslie Jones is one of the greatest people I know. Any personal attacks against her are attacks against us all.”


 


 


 

Ghostbusters screenwriter Katie Dippold also tweeted support for Leslie.


 

Others started a #LoveForLeslieJ hashtag, encouraging Jones to “stay strong” and return to Twitter, while celebrities including actors John Boyega and Jada Pinkett Smith publicly offered their support.

 


 


 

– Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!