Leslie Jones and NBC battle over her live Olympics coverage
Beijing, China – It seems NBC Sports might have an issue with comedian Leslie Jones and her candid Twitter commentary of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
If you've never tuned into Jones' live-tweeting of the Olympics, there's no time like the present – especially since this could be her last time doing so.
The comedian first started her live coverage during the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro to much adoration from fans, sports lovers, and Olympic athletes.
But it looks like not everyone is on board with her iconic, heartfelt, and hilarious commentary, specifically NBC Sports.
In the early hours of Monday morning, Jones (56) posted a lengthy statement on Twitter captioned, "Leslie Jones does [not] stay anywhere I’m not welcomed."
The statement began with Jones admitting the Beijing Winter Olympics might be the last Olympic Games she live tweets.
"I'm tired of fighting the folks who don't want me to do it. They block my videos and they get folks who think they can do it like me. And I’m tired of fighting them," Jones wrote.
She continued, "I love the athletes and they love me doing it. And I know y’all love it. But now it’s just gotten too hard. And no one is fighting for or with me. Soooo I guess I'll leave it to the professionals. But thank you for all the love. #uptoyallnow."
Give the people what they want: Leslie Jones
Although her written statement didn't explicitly name NBC Sports, Jones made sure to call them out in the text of a separate tweet.
"I have watched [the] Olympics since I could walk lol. Me and my dad. So this is from my heart," she wrote. "Y’all should be asking @NBCSports why they don’t see that. And think they can replace me with just anyone. Again not saying I was first just saying it’s frustrating."
Despite the potential turmoil between the former Saturday Night Live comedian and NBC, fans of Jones' commentary were quick to defend her honor in the Twitter-verse.
Actor Jameela Jamil tweeted, "I only got back into the Olympics because of you," while writer Amy Kuperinsky wrote, "Doesn’t NBC know that Leslie Jones reacting to the Olympics is the reason why some people even watch the broadcast to begin with."
One Twitter user even applauded Jones' empathy, saying, "I love the joy you bring [with] your commentary. Especially the fact you never tear any athlete down for not winning gold all the time. You remember this is hard [and] these are not robots, things happen."
For Jones, the enthusiasm she has for live-tweeting the Olympics stems from her own love of the Games.
"I really enjoy watching the Olympics. I really love [your] reaction, I love that you guys enjoy [it]. When I first started doing this in Rio, I did this because people were telling me that no one watches the Olympics, and I was like, 'Are you f***ing crazy?'" Jones said in a video.
"This is like, everybody coming together no matter what's going on and competing in the Games."
NBC Sports has yet to comment on its apparent disagreement with Jones' coverage, but it's quite clear that the people of Twitter are here for it.
If NBC was wise and really cared about improving its ratings, they'd team up with Jones – who is bringing in viewers – rather than pushing her away.
Cover photo: IMAGO/NurPhoto