Leslie Jones revealed she confronted “Saturday Night Live” writers about being typecast as “angry” and aggressive.
“It was kind of frustrating that they would always make me the girl who was angry and hit people or in love with a white boy,” the comedian said on the June 12 episode of “The Sam Sanders Show.”
“They just always wanted to make me angry or fight with someone,” she added.
Jones, who was on the sketch comedy series from 2014 to 2019, said she asked the writers to “stop writing me like that” – but they refused.
“They’re like, ‘This is successful. When you leave here, you’re going to be able to make…'” she recalled. “No. I don’t want to be Chevy Chase. I don’t want to be just anybody… I want to be Leslie. I want to do anything.”
Jones continued, “I would say to them, ‘Hey, can I be in this skit?’ “Hey, when do I get to play a man?” They would let them do other things and then they wouldn’t let me play as much as I wanted to play.”
The 58-year-old said she once spoke to creator Lorne Michaels about some of the racial “undertones” happening behind the scenes.
“You know, there’s some racist stuff going on up here,” she said, before claiming that “the misogyny outweighs the racism” at “SNL.”
Despite her complaints, Jones said she still played ball with the NBC show because she knew it was best for her career.
“I wanted to be on the show,” she said, “and at the time I didn’t think that was what was happening, ’til it kept happening. And then, every time I got a sketch, I was like, ‘Okay, who am I going to beat this week?'”
Jones also called “SNL” a “machine” that will never change because “It’s been a success” since it premiered in 1975.
“If you want to be there, go there because it’s a great foundation,” she said as advice for aspiring comedians. “It’s a great place for you to still find yourself. You can definitely find love there.”
However, Jones noted that comics must have “a very strong personality” and be “very sure of yourself” if they want to be on the show.
When asked to sum up her experience, Jones called it “bittersweet,” because while she “loved being there” and had “fun,” she “doesn’t miss the mental part” of the job.
Page Six has reached out to “SNL” for comment.
Jones joined “SNL” as a writer during season 39 in 2014 before being promoted to an official cast member later that year.
At the time, Jones was the oldest new recruit in the show’s history at age 47.
She earned two Emmy nominations for her performance before leaving the series in 2019.
