SNL’s Leslie Jones Isn’t Your Typical Celebrity, and Her Memoir Reflects That

The Parting Shot with H. Alan Scott

Leslie Jones, best known for her star-making turn on Saturday Night Live, is ready to share her story, on her terms and in her own way. She came up with the book’s title “because a whole bunch of people [would] come up to me and go, ‘Thats Leslie-f******-Jones!,’” Jones to Newsweek’s H. Alan Scott. In her book, Leslie F****** Jones (Grand Central Publishing), the comedian shares the abuse she suffered as a child, her path to stardom and how she emerged with a level head. “I don't look at myself as a celebrity. I look at it like somebody that got a really good job and was just really good at it.” About that job, she said SNL “is a machine that's already fixed the way that it is. It does not matter how wonderful and great and different I am, I'm not going to change the machine,” except for her impact on the way SNL “might look at Black women, now they'll have more Black women.” While she does wish she was “in my 30s so I can just do Marvel sh**,” Jones knows what she wants next: “to be an interpreter for our nation right now, because I feel like no one's speaking the nation's language.”

Visit Newsweek.com to learn more about the podcasts we offer and to catch up on the latest news. While you’re there, subscribe to Newsweek’s ‘For the Culture newsletter. Follow H. Alan Scott on everything at @HAlanScott.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.