If you've noticed, there seems to be a celebrity that's been unearthed who has been taking social media by storm since 2016. No, this time it isn't a Kardashian, I'm talking about Leslie Jones. If you don't know who Leslie Jones is, then buckle up because this is one hell of a woman.
Leslie Jones is a 48-year-old comedian that joined "Saturday Night Live's" writing staff in 2013 and was able to be hired on as a featured player in the fall of 2014. If you're not already following her on Twitter or following her adventure in Rio on her Snapchat (@LesDogggg), that should be the first thing you do after you read this article today. There are dozens of reasons why there's this gravitational pull that makes you want to know her, to laugh when she's laughing; that makes you want to root her on through every sketch she's in and now every movie she's a part of! Yes, after seeing "Ghostbusters" twice in cinemas, I'm still 100 percent ecstatic about its all-female cast and how fantastic it was! I'm going to just name off a few reasons why Leslie Jones is my Woman of the Year.
1. Leslie took over "Saturday Night Live," and she's there to stay.
If you've watched any of the 41st season of SNL, then you know how detrimental Leslie is to that goofy hard-working machine. Her Weekend Update bits and the indescribable chemistry between her and Weekend Update anchor Colin Jost might be enough to keep you coming back week after week for more.
2. She's your new comedic favorite.
Leslie Jones is the embodiment of all of us squished into an energetic, positive hilarious human being! Every week after a show, she tweets photos of herself with that week's host and in that moment I feel like we're all Leslie Jones.
Also, let's not forget that iconic Digital Short on SNL this past season with host Peter Dinklage where they pretended to be on that show "Naked and Afraid." Not going to lie, wasn't sure about having Tyrion Lannister as an option to host SNL, but he totally killed it with Leslie as this power-force next to him, of course!
3. Her live tweets of GoT and her Snapchat presence gives me LIFE.
Literally, the day I followed Leslie Jones I had only followed her on Twitter because I just L-O-V-E-D her on SNL, so of course I follow all my SNL faves (it's a must for that daily dose of comedy during hiatus), but I had no idea what I was about to get into. When "Game of Thrones" premiered, the world was ready, and Leslie Jones came out to play.
Her snaps and tweets about the Rio Olympics even garnered so much attention that she was invited to fly out there and catch all of it from the audience's standpoint! With VIP access she's been hanging out backstage and in front of the stage, meeting Gold Medal winners and cheering on the US of A! SLAY ALL DAY, LESLIE! SLAY. ALL. DAY!
4. She quit college to pursue her comedy dream!
During the "Ghostbusters" press tour, on the "Graham Norton Show" Leslie Jones told a story about how she got into comedy. She'd actually gone on to college on a basketball scholarship, and when school first started her friend had signed her up for a "Funniest Person on Campus" contest, of course she won and the rest is history! She dropped out, apologized to her dad and went to Los Angeles and later New York to perform stand-up comedy.
There were so many times I laid around in my room on a 10-page paper night, dreading the blank screen and praying that something would happen to me, anything at all, to make me not write that stupid paper. Maybe someone would find my YouTube Channel and think I was so funny they would hand me a Comedy Central pilot, or they'd ask me to come write for "The Tonight Show." You can tell that not only did I major in Anthropology, but I minored in delusions, as well.
Not only did she run away to start working on her dreams, her "Saturday Night Live" audition was purely her stand-up routine! Using her accomplishments to achieve a bigger dream, that's what I call impressive.
5. She's a GHOSTBUSTER!
I just can't get over how great this movie was! From McCarthy and Wiig reunited (God bless Bridesmaids) to a very spicy McKinnon, and to top it all off, Leslie Jones, this movie was one of the biggest blockbusters of the summer! Paul Feig really knows how to put together a proper ensemble, and the fact that this ensemble was all-female gave me all the feels of Girl Power!
As I looked up to the Spice Girls, a whole new generation of girls now has a slew of women to look up to! Hollywood has never looked so exciting!
Leslie Jones, social media confidant, stand-up genius and all around amazing woman is helping keep comedy fresh today! God bless Leslie Jones and the gifts that she chooses to share with the world. Now I can't picture my life without her in it.
