When there’s something strange on your Twitter profile, who you gonna call? Leslie Jones.
Even after opening to positive reviews and decent box office, the all-female Ghostbusters reboot is still being subjected to scorn from Internet fanboys. And yet again the victim is one of the film’s stars, Leslie Jones.
Jones has already been at the center of several Ghostbusters scandals. First, she responded to critics who disliked the fact that her character, Patty Tolan, was an MTA employee instead of a scientist by saying that “a regular person” could be a Ghostbuster. Then when she couldn’t find a dress to wear to the film’s premiere, she called out designers on Twitter until Christian Siriano agreed to provide her with a gown.
The latest round of trolling, however, was far more sinister. On Monday, Jones tweeted out that she had received messages calling her an ape, and that she had been sent obscene photos. She then decided to expose the tr0lls so that her 139,000 followers could see “the evil.”
Jones shared a succession of screenshots that referred to her as King Kong and Harambe (the ape killed at the Cincinnati Zoo), called her “ugly” and “savage” and implied that she had been dropped on her head as a baby. (To see the images, head to Jones’ Twitter page).
She then sent out a message to all the haters, and to Twitter for not blocking her trolls:
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
— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) July 19, 2016
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 sprew hate
— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) July 19, 2016
I use to wonder why some celebs don't have Twitter accts now I know. You can't be nice and communicate with fans cause people crazy.
— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) July 19, 2016
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.
— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) July 19, 2016
I'm more human and real than you fucking think.I work my ass off. I'm not different than any of you who has a dream to do what they love.
— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) July 19, 2016
But I'm I that naive to think that some things was changing yes I was. We still live in a world where we have to say "black lives matter"
— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) July 19, 2016
I'm so tired of it. Why is this still a fight? I want to hate so bad but I can't because I know it doesn't fix anything and just make me sad
— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) July 19, 2016
I'm not stupid to not know racism exists. And I know it will probably live on way after me. But we have to make people take responsibility
— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) July 19, 2016
I'm not stupid to not know racism exists. And I know it will probably live on way after me. But we have to make people take responsibility
— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) July 19, 2016
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
— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) July 19, 2016
Profiles that some of these people are crazy sick. It's not enough to freeze Acct. They should be reported.
— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) July 19, 2016
And for all the "don't stoop to their level people" it's way past that. So please have a seat. Don't tell me how to react.
— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) July 19, 2016
Cause I have every right to be offended and pissed. So for right now I have to take a break. All this hatred giving me the blues! Outty 5000
— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) July 19, 2016
Jones’ next movie should be a spinoff called Trollbusters.
Update: Jones’ tweets took on a darker tone later in the evening when she discovered that a fake account was tweeting out racist, anti-gay rhetoric in her name, effectively driving her off Twitter—again, go to her account for the screenshots:
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.
— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) July 19, 2016
I leave Twitter tonight with tears and a very sad heart.All this cause I did a movie.You can hate the movie but the shit I got today…wrong
— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) July 19, 2016