Dan Aykroyd Compares Leslie Jones Haters to Trump Supporters: 'There's a Lot of White Racist Hatred Out There'

Dan Aykroyd is standing up for Leslie Jones and comparing the social media trolls targeting her to Donald Trump supporters.

Following a series of racist and offensive tweets, many of them criticizing her appearance, the Ghostbusters star, 48, took to Twitter on Monday to defend herself.

“I leave Twitter tonight with tears and a very sad heart.All this cause I did a movie.You can hate the movie but the shit I got today…wrong,” she wrote.

Aykroyd, who starred in the original Ghostbusters, is now joining the new film’s director, Paul Feig, and screenwriter, Katie Dippold, in coming forward to support the actress.

“Well first of all she’s a great writer, great comedian and comes from a real urban background where she had a lot of hardship and she’s channelling that into a great achievement and a great career,” the actor told ET Canada. Like Jones, Aykroyd got his big break as a cast member on Saturday Night Live.

As for the haters, Aykroyd said, “These people, they’re insignificant gnats, they’re losers, they have no lives of their own, they can probably barely pay for the wifi they’re using.”

He added, “I would say you’re looking at obese white men between 50 and 60 who are active Klan members or member of the Aryan Nation and there are millions of them.

“I’m afraid to say that that contingency will be voting for the republican ticket, pretty much that’s what the statistics are indicating, that there’s a lot of white racist hatred out there that’s going to channel into a support for the republican ticket, maybe in the false belief that these people share their views,” he continued.

“I don’t think that Trump and [vice presidential nominee Mike] Pence are as racist as the people who attacked Leslie Jones, I really don’t. Trump may be saying some things to go that way to get some votes but – well I don’t know.”

On Monday, Jones received an outpouring of support with the hashtag #LoveForLeslie. Stars like Anna Kendrick, Jada Pinkett Smith, Judd Apatow and Margaret Cho joined Feig and Dippold in speaking out for the actress.

After exposing a slew of trolls on Twitter, Jones said she now understands why certain celebs don’t have social media, frightened by the hate she’s received.

“You have to hate yourself to putout that type of hate. I mean on my worst day I can’t think of this type of hate to put out,” she tweeted. “I don’t know how to feel. I’m numb. I see the words and pics and videos. Videos y'all. Meaning people took time to spew hate.”