September 22nd 2023.
Leslie F*cking Jones: A Memoir is an honest look into the life of actress and comedian Leslie Jones, as she recounts the racism and inequality she faced while filming the all-female version of Ghostbusters. Jones reveals that she was paid “way less” than her co-stars, Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, and Kate McKinnon.
In her memoir, Jones wrote that her first offer to star in the movie was only $67,000. This was compared to McCarthy's $14 million pay from the movie's $150 million production budget. “No knock on them, but my first offer was to do that movie for $67,000. I had to fight to get more , but the message was clear: ‘This is gonna blow you up -- after this, you’re made for life,’ all that kind of s***, as though I hadn’t had decades of a successful career already.”
Jones was also subject to racism and vitriol from internet trolls after the movie's release in 2016. This was so bad that she had to delete her Twitter account after being “brutally attacked with racial slurs and worse.” Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was made aware of the situation and assigned monitors to Jones’ account.
The comedian was also deeply hurt when director Jason Reitman made a seemingly dismissive comment about the all-female Ghostbusters movie. Reitman said the sequel would “go back to the original technique and hand the movie back to the fans.” Though he later apologized, Jones wrote in her book that the damage was done and “bringing up the idea of giving the movie ‘back to the fans’ was a pretty clear shout-out to all those losers who went after us for making an all-female film.”
Jones told People magazine that writing her memoir was a therapeutic process. “I think I learned the trials and tribulations, how much I’ve triumphed, how much I’ve changed, how much I’ve grown. Just a lot of things.” She added that there were many self realizations during this process.
Leslie Jones has been through a great deal of injustice and her memoir is a testament to her courage in the face of adversity. Despite the racism and inequality she faced, she persevered and provides an inspiring story of resilience.
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