Leslie Jones Won't Forgive Ghostbusters: Afterlife's Jason Reitman Over One Comment

According to Leslie Jones, ghosts are the least problematic part of the "Ghostbusters" universe. The comedian, actress, and writer released her memoir "Leslie F*cking Jones" on September 19. In the book, the multi-hyphenate expounds on the hate she received while working on the all-female "Ghostbusters" film and explains why a comment made by Jason Reitman, director of "Ghostbusters: Afterlife," only added more fuel to the fire.

Jones co-starred in the 2016 reboot of the 1984 comedy classic alongside Kate McKinnon, Melissa McCarthy, and Kristen Wiig for director Paul Feig. From the moment the movie's casting was announced in January 2015, trolls took to the internet to condemn the gender-swapped project and lash out at the film's stars.

Jones, a woman of color who was active on X, formerly known as Twitter, at the time, received the brunt of the abuse. In her memoir, she writes that for these trolls, the worst part "was that one of the lead characters was a Black woman. For some men, this was the final straw." And Jones still feels the effects of the harassment she received during this time. In her book, she points to one particular remark Reitman made during Bill Burr's "Monday Morning Podcast," where he said he was "trying to go back to the original technique and hand the movie back to the fans." Jones calls the comment "unforgivable."

The comments Leslie Jones calls out in her memoir were made on February 18, 2019, when Jason Reitman — son of Ivan Reitman, who directed the first two "Ghostbusters" movies — joined comic Bill Burr for an episode of his "Monday Morning Podcast." While discussing his new directorial project, "Ghostbusters: Afterlife," Reitman said, "I'm not making the 'Juno' of 'Ghostbusters' movies," a reference to his 2007 coming-of-age indie. He added, "I want to make a movie for my fellow 'Ghostbusters' fans."

Reitman's remarks drew ire from people who felt he was dismissing the work done in the 2016 film. Two days later, Reitman took to X to clarify, writing, "I have nothing but admiration for Paul [Feig] and Leslie [Jones] and Kate [McKinnon] and Melissa [McCarthy] and Kristen [Wiig] and the bravery with which they made Ghostbusters 2016. They expanded the universe and made an amazing movie!"

Reitman might have enjoyed the 2016 version of the film, but "Afterlife," which stars Mckenna Grace, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, and Paul Rudd, completely ignores the events in Feig's version. Instead, "Afterlife" acts as an extension of the stories told in the 1984 and 1989 movies. Jones says she was unable to accept Reitman's social media apology, writing in her book that "the damage was done." She adds that Reitman's comments were "a pretty clear shout-out to all those losers who went after us for making an all-female [movie]."