Leslie Jones Addresses The Hate She Got From Ghostbusters

It's safe to say that 2016 was a strange time for the "Ghostbusters" franchise. With Bill Murray refusing to return to the franchise following 1989's "Ghostbusters 2" (via IndieWire) and the death of Harold Ramis in 2014 (via Chicago Tribune), Sony instead decided to reboot the franchise, focusing on a fresh female-centric cast of paranormal hunters with "Bridesmaids" director Paul Feig helming it all. The result was 2016's "Ghostbusters," also known as "Ghostbusters: Answer the Call," which followed the cast of colorful characters as they try breaking into the ghost catching business. 

Even before its release, the film was subject to mass internet trolling and outrage, with many feeling that the inclusion of an all-female cast was a gimmick (via CinemaBlend). This led to not only the film's trailer becoming the most disliked on YouTube up to that point (via BBC News) and fans spamming the film's IMDb with low ratings prior to its release (via ScreenCrush), but also much hate being thrown at the actresses involved. Possibly the most affected out of the bunch, however, was Leslie Jones, who portrayed subway worker-turned-Ghosbuster, Patty Tolan. Although much of the mixed critical response to the film praised Jones' performance, with The Guardian saying that Jones adds, " ... a laugh-out-loud edge to some less-than-sharp material ... " that didn't stop vitriolic internet trolls from attacking the "Saturday Night Live" star in truly horrendous fashion. 

The immense hate thrown towards the cast of the 2016 "Ghostbusters" reboot has arguably had a more lasting impact than the film itself. But for Leslie Jones, the harsh reactions revealed something deeper than simple misogyny.

While being interviewed by "Orange is the New Black" star Laverne Cox for the E! Entertainment series "If We're Being Honest," Jones revealed what she experienced at the time. "People have to really know how specific that s–t is," Jones explains. "None of the other girls got trolled like I did, and I hate to say it like this, but it was because I was a Black woman. And I hate to say that." She described the reactions fans sent her way, including death threats and videos of them desecrating her image in vile ways.  

But Jones wasn't ready to go down without a fight, rightfully calling out hate-filled trolls for their actions, further commenting in the interview, "My important thing was ... accountability is what needs to be set in this society right now ... That's the thing that upset me the most is that all these people jumped on a bandwagon to do something so hateful to someone." Jones' case is sadly the reality for countless Black actresses from "Star Wars" to "iCarly" who, in their efforts to challenge the roles society expects of them, must deal with unnecessary backlash.