On Wednesday, “Ghostbusters” star Leslie Jones fell victim to a hacking spree –
A picture of Harambe, a gorilla shot and killed in the Cincinnati Zoo earlier this year, in addition to sexually explicit photos of the actress and other personal information were plastered on the front page of Jones’ website. The website has since been removed from the web.
Just last month, Jones was fiercely attacked by bouts of racism and misogyny on Twitter, and took a temporary leave of absence from the platform. Jones was also compared to Harambe in these initial Twitter assaults and received other vile insults.
“I leave Twitter tonight with tears and a very sad heart,” she tweeted before her absence. “All this ‘cause I did a movie. You can hate the movie but the s―t I got today ... wrong.”
Numerous fans and celebrities took to social media to show their support for Jones and to stand in solidarity with her. The hashtag #StandWithLeslie trended after the initial Twitter harassment. Additionally, Twitter support deleted many of the cruel tweets after the situation went viral and Jones contacted them with her concern and hurt.
Despite the support she has received so far, where are Jones’ “Ghostbusters” co-stars, Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, and Kate McKinnon? Where are their statements of solidarity? The film’s director, Paul Feig, expressed his support for Jones via Twitter, but the women from the film haven’t said a word. Is one of the possible reasons they are missing in action because the actresses are white feminists?
White feminists tend to speak toward equal rights for “the average woman,” but much of the time, women of color, transgender women, and culturally/religiously diverse women are often alienated by this phrasing of “the average woman,” since these groups are marginalized for other reasons and aspects of their identities as well.
Wiig, McCarthy, and McKinnon have yet to make any statements on this latest hate crime directed at Jones. These women strive to be feminist icons, but since it’s a black woman being attacked, there’s only silence from them. White feminists are more concerned for women who look like, act like, and think like them.
Their silence acts as consent for attackers to continue to treat Jones in this manner.
Interestingly enough, though, stars like Lena Dunham and Katy Perry (who are essentially white feminist icons) spoke up and “stood with Leslie.” At least we’re making progress, slowly but surely.
It is unclear exactly why Jones is the target for these hate crimes. Some suspect it’s due to the all-female “Ghostbusters” remake, and others suspect it’s just blatant racism and misogyny.
Racism and misogyny are still alive and well in this nation, particularly if vocal racists have high-speed internet access. Perhaps Americans are finally beginning to acknowledge that, now that a beloved comedian has been attacked and harassed on more than one occasion.
Jones’ website hacker has not been identified yet, but the FBI is currently investigating the case. Jones herself has not yet commented on the hack.