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Leslie Jones Responds To ‘Ghostbusters’ Racism Controversy

By Gregory Wakeman
Published on: 08:36 PST, Mar 5, 2016

Leslie Jones has responded to the controversy surrounding the new Ghostbusters trailer, which has seen some viewers accuse the upcoming remake of racism.

The first trailer for the Paul Feig-directed reboot of the classic comedy premiered on Thursday and was met with a divisive response. While some movie fans were a little disappointed with the trailer, others were more vehement about the fact that out of the four leading ladies, the only individual who wasn’t a scientist was the African-American character.

This character is portrayed by Leslie Jones in Ghostbusters, and now the actress and comedian has taken to Twitter to insist that the backlash to her character and the trailer itself is out of order.

These were just two of many posts that Leslie Jones uploaded to Twitter in response to the backlash of the Ghostbusters trailer.

If you’ve not watched the first full-length look at the comedy reboot then you can do so and form your own opinion about whether it can match the efforts of the first Ghostbusters film below.

However, soon after the trailer was released, moviegoers started to register their issues with the fact that Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, and Kate McKinnon’s characters were all scientists, while Leslie Jones was an MTA employee.

HitFix’s editor, Donna Dickens, even wrote an opinion piece noting her disappointment with the trailer, as she insisted, “It’s been over 30 years and the dynamic of three white scientists and ‘street-wise’ minority is dated.”

But Jones was insistent that the negative reaction to her character was a huge over-reaction, and she then began to post numerous others tweets that explained why. This even included a message that she received from an MTA worker.

“I received this from a MTA worker: Hey Leslie, thanks for being you. A question was asked by a news writer about your role on your new movie… This was my response: I work for the MTA in that role as a Token Boof Clerk and I was happy to see my job, something which provides me with plenty of jokes, a great perspective on society, and a birds eye view of horrible s*** that I witness everyday on screen.”

Jones continued, “(I wished Leslie would have hooked me up… a joke) however, the fact that my position as a clerk is the most abused by society, I feel this may give us a semblance of humanness… I love my job and I enjoy engaging people with information infused with humor. Leslie is a comedian. She’s a larger than life personality.”

“And it’s the first thing we see no matter what role she gets. As she grows, she will be able to tap into all her greatness. I am supporting this movie because I see me.”

Fans will be able to form a full view on the new Ghostbusters film when it’s finally released on July 15, 2016.

As well as starring Leslie Jones, Ghostbusters’ leading quartet is rounded off by Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, and Kate McKinnon, while its supporting cast comes in the shape of Chris Hemsworth, Neil Casy, Andy Garcia, Charles Dance, Michael K. Williams, Elizabeth Perkins, Cecily Strong, and Matt Walsh.

It’s also been teased that the stars of the original Ghostbusters film Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts will have cameos, as well.

[Image via Columbia Pictures]

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