Leslie Jones on Her Bond with Kenan Thompson and Helping ‘SNL’ Welcome Black Hosts Like Chadwick Boseman (Exclusive)

There’s always that colleague who makes work more enjoyable, and for Leslie Jones, that person was Kenan Thompson.

During her five years at Saturday night live, the 56-year-old comedian says the bond she formed with Thompson, 45, was second to none. They were so close that even when it came time for him to write his new memoir, there were no restrictions Leslie Fucking Jones (out September 19), she kindly read to her friend.

“There were so many things I could have put in the book that I didn’t,” says Jones. “Kenan wanted me to take out a couple of things that I took out for him.”

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Kenan Thompson.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Indeed, the two had inside jokes and personal stories from the set that were their own. Jones says one thing that bonded them was their shared experience as black cast members, as well as their efforts to help bring diverse talent to the show.

“I just remember getting into it with a writer once,” Jones says. “He talked to me and Kenan, and we talked about how glad we are to have black presenters. [the show]” Jones recalls. “The writer said, ‘Oh, to be fair, we had more black hosts than white hosts last season.’ I said, ‘Well, thank you very much for your 40 years of television motherhood!’

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One such host Jones helped secure was Chadwick Boseman. “I got it because I saw it in Black panther after the party. I said, ‘Dude, you gotta do it SNL and we’ll take care of you,'” she recalls telling the late actor, who died in August 2020. “A lot of the black guests came because me worked there.”

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Even outside of Kenan, “I was a team player,” Jones says. “I was always like, ‘Yeah, I’ll do your sketch, but let me have my moment, too. I’m actually very talented.’ As for where she shined the most, “I did my bit on the news,” she says of her star-making roles behind the “Weekend Update” desk.

Leslie Jones, Colin Jost, Michael Che.

Will Heath/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty

Still, Jones says she’s faced challenges. “Any white corporation you go to as a black woman, you’re going to face stereotypes,” she says of how she occasionally struggles to prove herself and seeks out stylists skilled in black hair and makeup. “I was like, ‘I’m black, I have black hair. Get me a black hairdresser.’

The only time she felt fully seen and supported was after she made a huge mistake her first year on the show. “When I screwed up the Chris Rock sketch, I was terrified,” she says of missing a line and freezing up in the middle of a sketch with her good friend and fellow comedian, who would help her land a job and host the show in 2014.

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SNL Cast. NBC

After it happened, she says, “I just remember being in the back, depressed, and every person, every cast member, cameraman, make-up artist—they all came to my station.”

Jones continues, “Vanessa [Bayer] he sat down next to me and said, ‘I know what, you’ll never do that again and that’s what you have to be happy about. Just know this is live and we’ve all done it.’ At that point,” Jones says. “I felt like everyone rallied around me.”

In 2019, Jones made the decision to leave the show. “I realized I could only do so much in this machine,” she says. “Or I can take what I learned on this machine and go make my own machine. It’s like a bittersweet thing.”

Still, she confirms, “I love the show.”

For more on Leslie Jones’ raw new memoir and fascinating journey to fame, pick up this week’s issue, out now.

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Source: HIS Education