This Might Be Our Last Olympics With Leslie Jones' Hilarious Coverage Because NBC Is Allegedly Pressuring Her To Stop
This is Leslie Jones — stand-up comedian, actor, former Saturday Night Live cast member, and the best part of the Olympics since 2016.
In case you missed it, basically no one loves the Olympics more than Leslie Jones does, and she's been doing live recaps of both the Summer and Winter Games on her social media since 2016.
Ohhhh shit!! That will leave a mark on they body and soul! @TeamUSA
Her tweets are so good, in fact, that in 2016, NBC flew her out to Rio so she could watch the competitions in person.
RIO BOUND BABY USA! USA!!
She again joined NBC as a correspondent at the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang.
However, only a few days into the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Leslie released a statement on Instagram saying that they may be the last Olympics she live tweets.
NBC / Via giphy.com
She captioned it, "Leslie Jones does not stay anywhere I’m not welcomed."
"I'm tired of fighting the folks who don't want me to do it," she wrote.
She continued, "They block my videos, and they get folks who think they can do it like me."
"And I'm tired of fighting them."
She also said that, while she knows that both the athletes and the audience love what she's doing, it's "gotten too hard" because "no one is fighting for or with me."
"I guess I'll leave it to the professionals," she added.
Leslie concluded her statement with the same hashtag that's in her caption: #UpToYallNow.
People in Leslie's comments have been rallying in support of the comedian and her Olympics content.
Even Olympic ice hockey player Hilary Knight expressed her love for Leslie.
Haters and online trolls can get the best of anyone, but on Twitter, Leslie clarified that they're not her problem — it's NBC, the network that broadcasts the Olympics.
@AwesomeAustinJS It’s not the hate it’s nbc
She shared the same sentiment in response to a fan's comment on TikTok.
As Leslie continued to express her discontent with NBC — which is also the network behind Saturday Night Live, the show she left in 2019 — more sweet messages of support poured in.
@Lesdoggg You're hilarious. It's the only way I can watch it now. NBC should be paying you. We don't want anyone but you.
Doesn’t NBC know that Leslie Jones reacting to the Olympics is the reason why some people even watch the broadcast to begin with https://t.co/EO5nCIzOGy
@Lesdoggg Sorry to hear that you are being pressured by NBC, IOC or USOC to quit your commentary sharing. NBC is the worst. O.K. second worst just ahead of FOX.
This isn't the first time Leslie has hinted at issues with NBC. In 2020, she told Entertainment Tonight that she doesn't miss SNL at all because "that job was like two jobs and very restrictive too."
She concluded, "I wasn’t very free there."
Well, the Olympics certainly wouldn't be the same without Leslie's colorful commentary. I hope NBC decides to work with her again instead of against her, but until then, I'd love to see her bring her talents to another competition, like the Classic Tetris World Championships or The Great British Bakeoff.
