Online trolls keep trying, but they can’t tear comedian Leslie Jones down.
The internet is standing with Jones after a heinous hack reportedly exposed nude photos and private documents that appeared to belong to the Ghostbusters and Saturday Night Live actress. Jones has been the target of online abuse targeting her race and appearance for the past month.
Yesterday (Aug. 24), Jones’ personal website was compromised, with the apparent hack publishing explicit photos, along with images that appeared to be of the actress’s driver’s license and passport, and a picture of the late zoo gorilla Harambe (who has become an internet meme). The website has since gone dark.
Jones had not responded to the attack as of the time of this writing, nor posted on her normally active social media accounts.
This is the second major attack on Jones. In July, she was victimized by a barrage of racist and sexist Twitter comments that prompted her to temporarily leave the social network. Twitter reportedly banned Breitbart writer Milo Yiannopoulos for his comments after the incident. The Wrap published speculations that yesterday’s hack may have been carried out by a fan of Yiannopoulos.
This latest, especially vile attack spurred an outcry of support for Jones from celebrities, public figures, and the broader Twitterverse, many of them vowing not to let the internet succumb to hate.
The Roots drummer and DJ Questlove, actress Lena Dunham, pop star Katy Perry, and Ghostbusters director Paul Feig were among the many who spoke out against the hack. Some used the hashtag “#StandWithLeslie.”
Others, including Chirlane McCray, the wife of New York City mayor Bill de Blasio, tried to lift Jones up, in an effort to counterbalance the hate.