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The Internet’s worst people have a new woman to hate: Ghostbusters star Leslie Jones

Leslie Jones, badass
Leslie Jones, badass

[UPDATE: Milo has been banned for good from Twitter. My thoughts here.]

More than a year and a half of manbaby whining wasn’t enough to derail the opening weekend of the Ghostbusters reboot: the film took in a greater-than-expected $46 million in the US, and Sony is already talking about a sequel.

And so the Lady-Ghostbuster-haters have returned to their roots. And by that I mean harassing women. The woman they’ve chosen to target this time? Leslie Jones, who, in the tiny minds of her harassers, has two strikes against her: 1) she’s one of the stars of the Ghostbusters reboot and 2) she’s black.

The harassment campaign seems to have started in earnest yesterday morning, not long after “journalist” and Internet Nazi apologist Milo Yiannopoulos posted his, er, review of Ghostbusters on Breitbart, singling out Jones as “the worst of the lot. The actress is spectacularly unappealing, even relative to the rest of the odious cast.”

After this, the deluge. Racist Twitter goons swarmed Jones, attacking her as a “coon” and a “savage,” and comparing her to Harambe the ape; one critic, Jones reported, sent her “a pic with semen on my face. I’m tryin to figure out what human means.”

Taken aback at the sheer nastiness of the attacks, Jones started posting screenshots of some of the most blatantly racist abuse.

Did Milo and his Twitter goons organize this campaign of abuse? I don’t know. But he definitely poured fuel on the fire.

After Jones reported him on Twitter for abuse, Milo (or someone working for Breitbart Tech, which Milo ostensibly runs) assigned a Breitbart Tech “reporter” to write a “news” article about this momentous event. No, really.

When asked for official comment on his blocking by Jones this is what Milo said: “She must have read my review! Honestly, this is why I say feminism is cancer. She used to be funny but being involved in a social justice dumpster fire like Ghostbusters has reduced her to the status of just another frothing loon on Twitter.”

Further ridiculing Jones, Milo said, “Imagine it: the star of a Hollywood blockbuster sitting at home reporting random people on social media for saying her movie sucked. Sad!”

Imagine the editor of Breitbart Tech assigning a reporter to interview him about being blocked and reported on Twitter. Beyond sad.

Milo then Tweeted screenshots of some obviously fake Tweets purportedly from Jones that some of her haters had conjured up and posted on Twitter.

Truly a class act, all the way.

After many hours of this sort of abuse, Jones responded to the hate with a series of heartfelt tweets.

The haters gloated over their “victory.”

If you’re on Twitter, show your support for Jones in the #LoveForLeslieJ hashtag.

And consider sending a strong but politely worded note to Twitter CEO  Jack Dorsey (@jack) to let him know that Twitter’s continued inability or unwillingness to rein in its nastiest abusers and trolls is not acceptable.

Twitter can be a marvellous platform to share thoughts and jokes and links and ridiculous gifs. It can also be the enabler of vicious campaigns of harassment and abuse. Twitter provided the platform that made the racist harassment campaign against Jones possible.

Get it together, Twitter, or Leslie Jones won’t be the only one signing off.

H/T — Thanks to everyone who brought this to my attention. Thanks to Colby Klaus, whose post on the Amala Network offered a detailed timeline of the abuse and highlighted Milo’s role in all this, which I drew on in writing this post. And thanks to @TakedownMRAs for staying on top of this and pointing out Lo-ping’s gloating Tweet.

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RosaDeLava - Praying for Sexbots
RosaDeLava - Praying for Sexbots
8 years ago

I’m sure that people harass others online do so because they’re not afraid of retribution, but my question is more about why.

I get that they have a perfect opportunity to harm others without consequence; but why do they do it?

Victorious Parasol
Victorious Parasol
8 years ago

I’m disgusted and ashamed at how Leslie has been treated by so many hateful strangers.

I’m glad that so many of her Ghostbusters colleagues (including director Paul Fieg) have stepped up to support her.

I’m angry that the hateful strangers keep strutting around thinking they’re so tough and mighty and alpha.

I’m worried that some of the hateful strangers will think that bigoted tweets don’t give them enough of an endorphin rush.

JoeB
JoeB
8 years ago

Well there aren’t reports of anyone getting seriously injured in the protests around the RNC in Cleveland today, but come the fuck on people.

@KPLC7News 1h1 hour ago
DEVELOPING: Activists from Black Lives Matter, Westboro Baptist Church and the KKK throwing urine at each other

http://www.kplctv.com/story/32479326/watch-live-black-lives-matter-protest-near-east-4th-st?clienttype=generic&sf31289924=1

Axecalibur: Middle Name Danger
Axecalibur: Middle Name Danger
8 years ago

Oh, I fuckin hate free speech. Not the right to free expression, mind. That’s awesome. No, I mean this idea that people’s opinions matter. That their speech is valuable. That listening to bigots is a virtue, but using that same speech to call them bigots is regressive tyranny. That it’s just the natural order of things when harassers target someone (usually a woman) for constant abuse
Most of all, I hate the tech industry. I hate how these sheltered dickholes see people using their products for bigotry or fraud and do nothing. I hate how they pretend to care with their report buttons and window dressing, anti bullying policies. I hate that it doesn’t matter how many times everyone tells them how bad it is, they ignore it entirely. I hate how McDonald’s, IKEA, or Ford woulda already done something about this by now (save themselves the bad PR at least), but Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit refuse to. I hate that this ain’t the 1st and won’t be the last

repentantphonebooth
repentantphonebooth
8 years ago

In protest to this shit I am seeing Ghostbusters again tonight. Well, I was going to anyway, but now I am watching it angry. Why can’t we just be allowed to have an awesome movie with women we love without our idols being shat on by people whose only talent is being tenaciously horrible?

(((Her Grace Phryne))): Tool of the Butt-Worshipping, Lesbian-Powered Elite
(((Her Grace Phryne))): Tool of the Butt-Worshipping, Lesbian-Powered Elite
8 years ago

@IP: Good kitty!

This whole thing makes me so angry. I’m not a fan of “don’t feed the trolls” anyway, but ARGH. No words.

joekster
joekster
8 years ago

@Alan: thank you for clarifying that. It’s sort of scary how far fundamentalist Islam and fundamentalist Christianity mirror each other. It’s interesting: I always thought that the dualistic apocalypticism in Christianity was a legacy of the Essenes, and thus (at several removes) Zoroastrianism. Does anyone know if any of that was passed on to Rabinical Judaism?

@Leftwingfox: I like that. Do you mind if I use it? It’s a phrase I heard alot as a kid, but seems to be falling out of favor (thank heaven).

Regarding the ‘freedom of speech’ argument: I actually have a theory about this. What I’m about to say goes into religion a bit, and that’s always a touchy subject, so let me say at the start that it’s just a theory, and that I’m not married to it. Also, my apologies in advance if I offend anyone. I’m not trying to. The below is just a theory that I’ve put a bit of thought into, and I’d like your opinions on it. As Einstein once said, ‘when I was a young man, my mind was a blunt instrument. But, I kept sticking it out at people, and they kept beating on it, until my mind was a sharp as a razor’.

Finally, if anyone on the internet has used a similar theory to that below, or similar language, as a way of silencing any minority, I am not familiar with such, and do not intend to do so here. If so, please tell me so that I may avoid similar language in the future.

If anyone has suffered from an abusive, hyper-religious household, insert appropriate trigger warning here (I’m new at the ‘trigger warning’ notion, so I’m not sure what the appropriate one would be).

So, here goes: Americans like to claim that we have no official religion here, and that is (technically) true: there is no single religious organization that our government funds, no specific institution gets special tax breaks, and no religious organization has a direct say in our laws. However, I would argue that we do have a national religion: Freedom Of Religion.

Here is my thinking: the notion of religious freedom is one that many Americans will defend as zealously as any crusader or Muslim extremist. Religious freedom is one of the official touchstones of American society, and it is actually written into our governing documents. Moreover, just as Protestants in Catholic nations have to make allowances for the Catholic church and Christians in Muslim nations must conform to Muslim ideals, any religion or philosophy that wishes to be accepted in America has to conform to our national principle of religious freedom: various institutions can get away with violating it for a time, but go to far or for to long, and the full weight of our state will come down on you (there are always exceptions, but this seems to be the rule today). I do not mean to imply that America has always been this way (I know too much American history to do so with a straight face), but only that there is a large segment of the American population that believes in this today. Actually, the fact that American history so plainly does not support the notion of universal religious tolerance supports this theory, for what religion does not contradict the historical record at some point?

What does that have to do with internet trolling? If I’m correct, then Freedom of Speech is also a part of our national religion, and it is something that many Americas accept as unquestioningly as a Catholic accepts the Eucharist. If I’m correct, than for many Americans, those First Amendment freedoms enjoy the same end-run around logic that religious zealotry does. If so, than that may explain why certain people are so unwilling to silence such hateful, hurtful speech as what is posted above. To them, it would be blasphemous.

Fabe
Fabe
8 years ago

What really gets to me is that the fonts aren’t even correct on the fake tweets.

I know that sounds silly, but hear me out: They’re not even fucking trying. These tweets are blatantly fake, but people are swallowing it, and her harassers are using them to mock her.

They don’t have to put any effort into their harassment. They just have to direct the bile hose at her.

It’s not just the font but the language/spelling/grammar. they so bought into their own racist propaganda that they actually think that’s how black people communicate/speak.

dust bunny
dust bunny
8 years ago

@ joekster

You’re right, although religious freedom is a not particularly central aspect of it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_civil_religion

It’s a propaganda/indoctrination system whose purpose (as usual for propaganda) is to uphold and legitimize current structures of power and oppression. So giving bullies license to operate is a feature, not a bug.

Patricia Kayden
Patricia Kayden
8 years ago

What gets to me is that Twitter literally does nothing to stop this type of racist harassment. Absolutely nothing. I really would advise POC to simply stay off twitter until it gets its ish together. There is no reason to subject yourself to racist abuse because the owners of a platform could give a damn about the racism it allows to flourish.

Natalie
Natalie
8 years ago

I used to be on Twitter when it wasn’t full of shitlords. Those were good times. Now it’s become as big a cesspool as YouTube comments. If “SJWs” ruined video games and movies for GamerGaters, GamerGaters ruined Twitter for me.

Weatherwax
Weatherwax
8 years ago

This is awful and I wish it was unpredictable.

I went to see Ghostbusters the night before last. I really enjoyed it. Leslie Jones gave an excellent performance, as did her three costars. Make no mistake, the only reason for this focus on her is her race. I (I’m British and live in the UK) had never heard of her before this film. I shall be looking out for her from now on, because she did a sterling job.

Part of me wonders whether anyone – in the run up to the offer – gave her a heads up on what would be coming her way as a result of this role. But I’m not sure they knew quite how big this would be. And how does one prepare, anyway? I’m guessing Wiig and McCarthy would have discussed on many occasions what international fame feels like for a woman (hint: Tom Hanks may not get the same experience).

I loved all the performances and no one deserves this acidic dripping. I’m just so sorry she had to deal with this at a time when she was perfectly entitled to feel like queen of the world (without impending iceberg issues).

authorialAlchemy
authorialAlchemy
8 years ago

Dude, I love Leslie Jones, even though I’m really only familiar with her through Saturday Night Live. She doesn’t deserve this shit, no one does. :C

proudfootz
proudfootz
8 years ago

She’s got some good standup on Youtube – but it’s not for everybody (be warned!).

Giving her upvotes every way I can.

bekabot
bekabot
8 years ago

“@joekster: XKCD had it right; Sticks and stone may break my bones, but words can make be think I deserved it.”

In Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand has one of her expy characters say that in the last analysis there’s no way to punish any man (read: “human”) except through guilt (“what he has accepted as guilt”) — though she might also have mentioned shame, which works as well or better. Here’s the quote:

“If a man has ever stolen a dime, you can impose on him the punishment intended for a bank robber and he will take it. He’ll bear any form of misery and he’ll feel that he deserves it.”

And here’s the kicker:

“If there’s not enough guilt in the world, then we must create it.”

(Though once again I think she should have added “shame”.)

Gotta admit she wasn’t wrong about everything…

JoeB
JoeB
8 years ago

BANNED!

https://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/twitter-just-permanently-suspended-conservative-writer-milo?utm_term=.yqR2PO5dl#.osExd9o7W

Good bit of news right before bed after subjecting myself to the RNC all evening.

Bina
Bina
8 years ago

Yeah-Nope shouldn’t be the only one banned. But it’s a good start…

Virgin Mary
Virgin Mary
8 years ago

It’s Milo’s narcissism which always gets me, is he being ironic?

tall, slim, and devastatingly handsome statue of justice. (But no blindfold. It would be a crime to cover up these eyes.)

Besides being stunningly handsome, friendly to the proletariat, and blessed with a beautiful singing voice, I am always months ahead of the curve.

authorialAlchemy
authorialAlchemy
8 years ago

I heard Milo has been banned!

Lea
Lea
8 years ago

Milo banned? Awesome.

Victorious Parasol
Victorious Parasol
8 years ago

I’m glad to hear of the ban, but I wonder how long until he tries to rejoin under a new handle?

Lionel
Lionel
8 years ago

The next Ghostbusters movie should have a bunch of whiney MRAs as the antagonists, maybe a bungling team of competitors.

JSun
JSun
8 years ago

Yeah Milo has been permabanned from twitter, who released a statement saying that their previous inaction on him and others like him was a mistake and that they’ll be taking a more aggressive approach from now on.

Virgin Mary
Virgin Mary
8 years ago

He’s still write about it on Breit Fart and say it’s the commies fault.

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