Leslie Jones has just come off a successful run as a special correspondent for the Olympics (both officially and unofficially) after putting the online harassment she endured behind her. But it now appears that harassment has escalated to a hack of her personal information and website.
Not too long ago, the Ghostbusters star was simply trying to enjoy excitement over her latest role when Twitter users started throwing truly vile sexist and racist harassment her way. She left the social network for a brief time and Twitter banned one long-time aggressor in this area but their overall harassment problem stands.
While Jones went on to give Twitter lots of traffic thanks to her fantastic reactions to the summer Olympics, The Wrap reports she's now the victim of a hacker and it's not a stretch to assume some of the same racists are behind it when you read the report:
The hacker posted personal photos from the “Ghostbusters” star”s iCloud account, including several nude shots as well as pictures of her passport and drivers license. The hacker also posted Jones” phone number and the password to her Twitter account.
The hacker posted a Twitter exchange at the top of the page between Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and the WikiLeaks account in which Dorsey said people are only banned for targeted harassment. WikiLeaks responded with a link to one of Jones” tweets in which she tells her Twitter followers to go after someone who had been harassing her.
The site, which has already been taken down, also featured a video of the gorilla Harambe, who was killed in an Ohio zoo earlier this year. Jones was the victim of repeated racist harassment online leading up to the release of “Ghostbusters”, with some Twitter users comparing her to Harambe.
The Wrap says Jones' representatives have not yet responded to comment and the actor herself has not tweeted so far this morning. Wikileaks has recently outed gay individuals, published names of teenage rape victims and more sensitive information in their latest “leak.” The Cincinnati Zoo recently deleted their Twitter account after responses about their deceased gorilla Harambe became too much. Images and references to Harambe were part of the initial racist attacks on Jones.
Online harassment is already a big enough issue I think many aren't doing enough to combat but this latest hack is another in a long line of invasion of privacy against women in entertainment – from paparazzi photos to large-scale hacks. In 2014 Jennifer Lawrence, Rihanna and others were the victims of a similar crime.
“Just because I”m a public figure, just because I”m an actress, does not mean that I asked for this. It does not mean that it comes with the territory. It”s my body, and it should be my choice, and the fact that it is not my choice is absolutely disgusting. I can”t believe that we even live in that kind of world,” said Lawrence of the hack. “It is not a scandal. It is a sex crime.”
This recent attack on Jones is indicative of a deep-seeded hatred for women and women of color by this hacker and others like them. This kind of thing is not ok and I truly hope Jones' hacker is apprehended. This type of invasion is not easily forgotten. And in case you've forgotten, this all started because Jones dared to be a black woman in a blockbuster film.