You Can’t Handle Leslie Jones at a 10

Leslie Jones: Life Part 2, Leslie Jones Vinny Nolan/Peacock

Each Leslie Jones punchline is delivered with an enthusiasm (and at a volume) that few other comics ever approach. But, if you think the Saturday Night Live alum’s latest stand-up special, Peacock’s Life Part II, sees her approaching the apex of her energy… she says you’d be mistaken. That’s not to suggest the latest hour from the comedian and actress isn’t a frenzied marathon that tackles dating, aging, therapy and Jones’ hopes for her own funeral. It’s just that Jones says she’s still holding back — for the benefit of her audience. During a recent conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, which touched on her fraught past with the comments section and her thoughts on the future of her old NBC gig, she explains why no one is ready for her at her absolute most.

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Watching your latest special, I was so struck by the high level of energy you maintain for so long. How do you psych yourself up to do that kind of hour every night when you’re on tour?

That’s not even at the level that I could go to. That’s a five or a six. What’s so crazy is that was the one thing Lorne [Michaels] used to really push me to do: find levels. He was like, “You always start up here. You have nowhere to go!” But that’s who I am. I’d rather people tell me to pull me back than to tell me to build up.

If this was only a five or a six, what is a 10 for you?

You know what? I don’t get to 10. Ten is dangerous for me. The world is not ready for 10. That is when I’m totally honest and open and straight hitting you. And I don’t do that a lot, because people don’t know how to interpret it — if that makes any sense.

You talk a lot about age in your work and in this hour in particular. What has been the biggest perk to finding success after you’ve turned 40 and what’s been the biggest drawback?

Maturity, because you’re a little bit more patient. Your critical thinking is a little bit sharper. You know what to do and what not to do. It’s easier making it a community for other people. When you’re young, you don’t really care. You’re just like, “Take the joke!” Now, I think about my audience. I think about what I wanna say. I think about what I wanna communicate. I think about what it is that I want people to learn from what I’m doing. The downside is that I’m old. (Laughs.) The other day I was like, “God, if I could be like 42 or 37 right now…” Cause I’m doing seven things at once. And I know there’s a time in my life where I’d have been like, “This is nothing.” Now, Lord, I am tired.

In the time since you left SNL, do you feel like Hollywood — and I guess I’m speaking about acting in particular — has a better handle on what you’re good at and the types of things you want to do?

I don’t think so. Not yet. I think that they’re catching on. Hollywood moves so slow, slower than people think. When I left SNL, everybody thought of me as a comedian, a sketch artist. So, of course, all you’re going to get is comedies and this type of thing. But as an artist myself, I have to be able to take things that show Hollywood that I can do this or this or this. Part of my job is to pick those jobs that [let people] see me do different things. I don’t think Hollywood does that with any artist. I don’t think that they discover it until someone makes them notice it

I realize that you wrote about the Ghostbusters experience in your memoir, about dealing with all of the sexist and racist vitriol that surrounded the film, but what did you learn from that experience that you’ve applied to your career?

I think that we didn’t have everybody behind us. The rush of comments and backlash on it really scared the production. They freaked out a little bit. It didn’t help when people like Trump were like, “That can’t be! Women ghostbusters?” It was just a whole campaign against women. What I learned is, first of all, that everybody doesn’t think the same way. There really are chauvinists out there. There really are racists. I’m not saying that I didn’t know that it. I just didn’t think it was as bad as it was back in the day. But it’s worse because the internet. I don’t think the [other] girls received the things that I received, because I was receiving people spitting on my headshot, jacking off on my headshot. The worst things. I learned that there are crazy people out there — and I had to learn this the hard way — but you can’t give them any window. You can’t give them any life at all. You’ve gotta really block that noise out, because that’s all it is. It’s noise. And you know what else I learned? I learned that most of those people are just frustrated fans.

The whole concept of toxic fandom confuses me because, outside of the anger and backwards thinking, because who cares about a movie franchise that much?

You know what’s crazy? Ghostbusters are not a real thing. If you see a ghost, call the police. Call your pastor. Don’t call the Ghostbusters. We’re not real. It’s a movie.

Have you been able to separate yourself from the tweets and the comments and the online discourse around your work?

I care too much. I care if people are hurt, so I look at everything. I look at all comments. I look at all of that. It’s not good. But I pay attention to stuff like that, because I don’t want to become dead inside.

Why would you be dead inside for not paying attention to stuff like that?

I feel like I’m a public servant when I do comedy. So it’s very important to listen. I don’t listen to everything. I laugh when they say something really mean. I laugh and block them. But I do listen if a woman says, like, “I didn’t really like the way that you did that joke.” If it’s valid, then I go, Ok, let me tweak. If it’s not, I don’t worry about it. I know that everybody has a different way of receiving things.

To go back to Lorne for a minute. As someone who’s still in the SNL orbit, why do you think everyone is so fascinated by the idea of his retirement? And I realize I’m feeding into that by bringing it up.

Because he’s old. (Laughs.) If he was young, y’all wouldn’t be thinking about that. It’s because he’s older. The biggest question for me is… is SNL gonna still go on when he leaves? I wonder if that’s gonna happen. I honestly think it’s all gonna go to shit if Kenan leaves. If Kenan leaves, I think SNL might be over. I don’t know. He’s an anchor. He’s a rock. He’s a strong tree in the woods. I’m telling you, that boy, I love him immensely. I would not have gotten through SNL without Keenan.

You appeared on Ziwe not long ago. She famously does these very baiting interviews. It’s almost performance art. It really came across like you did not get the memo. Did you really have no idea what you were sitting down for?

No one told me. No one fucking told me. Everybody around me is like, “You’re gonna do Ziwe. She’s great. She’s got a lot of followers. You know, just be careful. She’s a little sarcastic.” No one told me that the bitch rage baits! I would have went in there with a whole different attitude. I met her at the Knicks game, so I’m thinking she’s so sweet. She’s harmless. And then I stepped into the room and a barracuda showed up. She was about to get me to 10. I thought I was gonna ruin my career. I really did.