Last month, I reported on the cyber trolling woes of Saturday Night Live and Ghostbusters star Leslie Jones. Now, those woes worsen. Leslie Jones is cyber trolled again.
This time it’s far more serious. Hackers broke into her website and leaked nude photos of her. They hacked into her Tumblr account and took the photos from her iCloud. It didn’t stop there. They posted her drivers license, passport, phone number, and other personal information of Jones’. They put images of Harambe, the dead gorilla, posing with her and other celebrities. Please believe such images were photo-shopped. Since late July, Jones has been the victim of vicious cyber racist and sexist attacks. ?Jones’ website, JustLeslie.com, is now defunct. Jones just got back from Rio as a guest social media commentator for the Olympics. ?So far, neither Jones nor her people have responded to the latest round of cyber attacks and hack. Many speak out on her behalf. Ghostbusters director Paul Feig tweeted, “What’s happening to is an outrage.” Even Milo Yiannopulous, who was banned from Twitter for allegedly harassing Leslie Jones, now sympathies with her. He expressed distress and wishes her the best during this upsetting time.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time celebrity nude photos were released without their knowledge or approval. In 2014, nearly 500 celebrity photos, most of them nude, were hacked and leaked to the public. Only one person was arrested for this crime. Their lies part of the problem. Few people are being caught and prosecuted for this. If people feel they can get away with it, they’re going to keep doing it. We have to strengthen our laws and efforts to catch these crooks. This should be the happiest year in Leslie Jones’ life. She has a spot on the historic Saturday Night Live. She’s a star of a major motion picture. She landed a gig covering the Olympics. She’s one of the fastest rising stars in Hollywood today. She should be living the American dream. But because of these trolls, bullies and hackers, Leslie Jones’ American dream has become an American nightmare. The nightmare seems to have no end in sight. Is this our new normalcy (I hope not!)?