In people are awful and I want off this planet news, comedian Leslie Jones’s iCloud was somehow hacked to gain access to personal, intimate photos of her along with photos of her passport and driver’s license. The perpetrators added insult to injury by then posting all of her personal data to her website. In case we weren’t aware of their motivation, they also posted racist sh*t on Leslie’s site, including a video of the slain gorilla Harambe. Leslie brought widespread awareness last month to the massive problem of racist trolls on Twitter, which led to changes on the social networking platform including the banning of Breitbart journalist Milo Yiannopoulos and subsequent erasure of hundreds of thousands of accounts. (Reportedly those accounts were banned for connections to extremism, but I would guess that many racist accounts were rightfully caught up in that sweep.) THR reports that the messages on Leslie’s website from the hackers referenced Yiannopoulos’s ouster from Twitter. The site has since been taken down by Leslie’s people. For his part, Yiannopoulos has claimed to be “distressed” by the hack, but his statement reads haughty to me. “I’m distressed to hear that Leslie Jones has been hacked and naked pictures of her have been posted online. I know we had our differences after my review of Ghostbusters but I wish her all the best at what must be a deeply upsetting time.”
Leslie just got back from an incredible trip to the Olympics cheering on and meeting so many athletes. It’s despicable and criminal that someone did this to her. She’s getting a lot of support online, with many people pointing out that this is even more evidence of the hatred and racism that women of color face on a daily basis. Here are some tweets in support of Leslie.
these acts against leslie jones….are sickening. its racist & sexist. it's disgusting. this is hate crimes. this aint "kids joshing round"
— Questlove Gomez (@questlove) August 24, 2016
What's happening to @Lesdoggg is an absolute outrage. Alt right, haters, trolls, "comedians," whoever the f-k you all are, you're just sad.
— Paul Feig (@paulfeig) August 24, 2016
Seems like the people who hacked Leslie Jones/celebrate that hack were really triggered by seeing women in lead roles. What weaklings!
— GABY DUNN (@gabydunn) August 24, 2016
Leslie Jones just spent 2 weeks cheering on American athletes of all genders, races, sexualities, and religions… and comes back to this.
— Charles Clymer (@cmclymer) August 24, 2016
This @Lesdoggg attack is troubling. The rampant racism percolating in society right now is shameful and sad. She made a movie, that's it!
— octavia spencer (@octaviaspencer) August 24, 2016
Do not give your eyeballs to this racist, hate-filled, misogynoir crime. I #StandWithLeslie ❤️
— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) August 24, 2016
Leslie Jones essentially has come under attack for existing & being visible. That should both bother & disturb us ALL
— Dart_Adams (@Dart_Adams) August 24, 2016
The more I read about this, the more my stomach is getting sick and the worse I feel for Leslie. It’s hard to know what to say, but I hope that the person or people who committed this horrible violation are investigated and prosecuted. The man who perpetrated the iPhone hacks on celebrities got ten years in federal prison and this goes beyond that to a clear cut hate crime. Whoever did this needs to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. That may be coming soon because TMZ reports that the FBI are on the case. I have the feeling that these people were stupid enough to send racist Twitter messages to Leslie before they did this. Hopefully this will be an easy case for the feds.
There also needs to be more justice for Leslie. Some people are coming up with clever ideas.
on SNL next season Leslie Jones should have a full episode of her remaking every iconic scene from every movie the hackers grew up watching.
— cartier burgundy (@cartierburgundy) August 24, 2016
We #StandWithLeslie and are hoping that the people who did this to her are swiftly brought to justice.
I REFUSE to EVER look at leaked info or pics of "Leslie Jones" Join me with this commitment. #IStandWithLeslie
— Aliyat Lecky (@aliyatlecky) August 24, 2016
Photos credit: PRPhotos and Getty
