Leslie Jones has been a featured cast member on Saturday Night Live for two years, starred in one of the most highly-anticipated movies of 2016 and was even flown to Rio thanks to her hilarious Twitter commentary on the Olympics.
But that’s not the reason everyone knows her name. Right now, the only reason people recognise the name Leslie Jones is because the Internet hates her.
This week, the Ghostbusters actress fell victim to cruel hackers who posted "sexually explicit and nude" images of comedian on her personal website.
In another gross invasion of privacy, they also posted images of her driver's license and passport, alongside racist images of Harambe, the gorilla who was killed when a three-year-old entered his enclosure at Cincinnati Zoo.
Leslie's management has since shut down her website.
2016 was supposed to be Leslie's year.
The year she went mainstream, broke into the movie business, and became another much-needed strong female presence who dominated box offices worldwide. Instead, it's been anything but easy.
This latest attack comes just one month after Leslie threatened to quit Twitter when she was viciously attacked by trolls, who flooded her feed with racist vitriol.
"I feel like I'm in a personal hell. I didn't do anything to deserve this. It's just too much. It shouldn't be like this," she wrote at the time.
Leslie is exactly right - what did she do to deserve such hate?
Surely it can't just be because she starred in the all-female version of Ghostbusters? That's hardly deserving of your personal pictures and information being shared with the entire world. Right?
I don't know anymore when it comes to Internet trolls.
To me, Leslie is a talented, and yes, outspoken black woman who should have every right to be unapologetic about who she is and what she stands for.
Luckily, fans of the star - and fellow celebrities - are offering support, with the hashtag 'IStandWithLeslie' trending online.
If there's one way to battle the floods of hate on Twitter, it's to fight back with a positive, viral hashtag.
Top Comments
"Surely it can't just be because she starred in the all-female version of Ghostbusters? That's hardly deserving of your personal pictures and information being shared with the entire world. Right?"
Agreed, but you are not telling the full story. While I do not agree with the heat she has received, it is NOT because she was in Ghostbusters, it was her inflammatory comments on Twitter that caused the problem. The movie had nothing to do with it.
Some examples of her apparently racist tweets, though there are many, many more include.
"get the fuck outta here a white boy is best dj wtf?"
"Lord have mercy...white people shit"
"ok you white girls are starting to look alike like a mutherfucka.I swear i went to high school with them two "
"Ok...black republicans? (blank stare), isn't that an oxymoron emphasis on "moron""
The list goes one.