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Culture > Entertainment

The Racist Abuse Leslie Jones Endured on Twitter is Absurd

Gina Escandon

Social media abuse is no new issue. Any anonymous jerk has the potential to spam you with racist and misogynistic comments and not receive any backlash. Comedian and Ghostbusters actress Leslie Jones has finally had enough and taken a stand against the hundreds of hate-filled comments she’s received on Twitter. In the past few days, Jones has been the victim of an unprecedented amount of bullying from people who passionately hate that women star in the Ghostbusters remake, and from a multitude of racist trolls. 


She began retweeting some of the appalling messages she’s gotten. 



Despite the fact that she exposed the racist comments and had hundreds of people flock to support her, it was not enough. She was too hurt, too angry and too done with the way people had treated her. 



Many are speculating why Twitter doesn’t do more to protect people from this kind of abuse. “Twitter I understand you got free speech I get it. But there has to be some guidelines when you let (hate) spread like that…It’s not enough to freeze Acct. They should be reported,” Jones said to Twitter directly.

Twitter eventually went through the comments Jones received and banned the worst offenders. While it’s not enough, it certainly is a start to ending social media abuse. 

“We know many people believe we have not done enough to curb this type of behavior on Twitter,” said a company spokesman. “We agree.”

Jones officially quit Twitter on Monday, but she returned today, proving no amount of negativity can keep her down. We can only hope that Twitter continues to create a system that prevents this type of abuse, and meanwhile, our hearts go out to Leslie Jones for the pain she’s had to endure. 

Gina was formerly the Beauty & Culture Editor at Her Campus, where she oversaw content and strategy for the site's key verticals. She was also the person behind @HerCampusBeauty, and all those other glowy selfies you faved. She got her start in digital media as a Campus Correspondent at HC Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where she graduated in 2017 with degrees in English and Theater. Now, Gina is an LA-based writer and editor, and you can regularly find her wearing a face mask in bed and scrolling through TikTok.