Leslie Jones ain’t afraid of no hacks.
Watch: Leslie Jones’s hilarious SNL breakdown of why online abuse can’t hurt her
Caroline Framke wrote about culture, which usually means television. Also seen @ The A.V. Club, The Atlantic, Complex, Flavorwire, NPR, the fridge to get more seltzer.
That was the message the Ghostbusters star threw at her online abusers loud and clear on Saturday Night Live’s October 22 episode. In one of her best standup comedy segments at the Weekend Update desk alongside co-anchor Colin Jost to date, Jones showed us exactly how she’s turned a year of online abuse — from targeted online racism and sexism on Twitter to a wave of stolen personal information — into a year of triumph.
Jones opened her set by informing everyone that, yes, she had been hacked, but she’d like her attackers to know one thing: “You can’t embarrass me more than I’ve embarrassed myself!”
“I am an open book,” she insisted. “I keep my porn in a folder labeled ‘PORN.’”
From there, Jones went on to share, in detail, some of the times she’s embarrassed herself enough to not give a shit about someone trying to do it for her, ranging from inspiring a childhood crush to throw rocks at her to disappointing Prince at an SNL after-party.
“Trust me: At some point, you stop being embarrassed, and start being you,” Jones grinned. “And I have been me for 49 years. The only person who can hack me is me.”
Not only is this segment one of the tightest four minutes of comedy Jones has turned out all year, but it comes down to one incredibly important detail on privacy and respecting people’s choices. Or in Jones’s words: “If you want to see Leslie Jones naked, just ask!”
