We love seeing Leslie Jones win.
Her latest movie, Ghostbusters, will likely open at no. 1 in the box office this weekend, pulling an estimated 46.5 million. And a frustrated tweet earlier this month complaining about designers hesitance to dress her for her premiere started a discussion on size and how designers pick their clients. (In the end Christian Siriano had her looking fabulous for the red carpet).
But it was her tribute to Whoopi Goldberg Thursday during her guest appearance on The View Thursday that has us blinking back tears because it emphasized the fact that representation on television really matters.
Jones took a moment during her segment to say that seeing Goldberg on TV, when Jones was a child, played a major role in her self-confidence to pursue a career in comedy.
“When I was young, my dad always let me listen to comedy album. I always knew about comedy, I always loved comedy,” she recalled. “The day that I saw Whoopi Goldberg on television, I cried so hard, because I kept looking at my daddy going, ‘Oh my god. There’s somebody on TV that looks like me! She looks like me! Yay! I can be on TV! I can be on TV! I can do it! Look at her look at her! She looks just like me.”
Leslie Jones Debuts Christian Siriano Gown at ‘Ghostbusters’ Movie Premiere
Jones held back tears as she went on: “I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, because now I know what I’m doing that when I put on that Ghostbusters suit, and little girls see me on TV now, now they’re gonna go, I can do it. You gave that to me, and I love you…and I love you for what you’ve done for Black women, I love you for what you’ve done for Black comedians, and I love you.”
We love this on so many levels. And now a young girl knows she can be the next Leslie Jones…and more.
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