Leslie Jones Reveals She Called Out 'SNL' Writers For Constantly Writing Her Characters As 'The Girl That Was Angry'

Leslie Jones is pulling back the curtain on her experience behind the scenes at Saturday Night Live. The comedian revealed she confronted the show's writers after becoming frustrated with what she described as a pattern of writing her characters as "the girl that was angry."

During a recent appearance on The Sam Sanders Show, she reflected on that typecasting:

“That is what SNL does, they make you a caricature of yourself…”

Throughout her time on SNL, Jones played memorable characters including Shanté Thomas, Meghan Markle's fictional third cousin who frequently appeared on "Weekend Update" to offer outrageous lessons on royal etiquette; Omarosa Manigault Newman, her fan-favorite impersonation of the former White House aide; and Alberta, a tough WNBA player who caused a scene in a sketch about marrying the owner of White Castle.

She explained when she realized the pattern wasn't a coincidence:

“I wanted to be on the show and, at the time, I didn't think that was what was happening ‘til it kept happening. And then I was like, every time I would get a sketch I was like, ‘Okay, who am I beating up this week?' ”

Jones discovered her comedy talent as a student at Colorado State University after a friend secretly signed her up for a campus "Funniest Person on Campus" contest, which she won. She later left school to pursue stand-up full-time.

You can view one of those controversial sketches when she played Donald Trump here:

- YouTubeyoutu.be

Jones went on to say that, although she often remembers her time on the show as "bittersweet," she ultimately "loved being there."

Despite the challenges, Jones said she doesn't regret the experience:

“I think that it is the machine that it is. It was great. It was fun. But I don't miss the mental part of it.”

You can watch the interview clip here:

After leaving Saturday Night Live, Bowen Yang expressed similar sentiments, saying he often felt like he was there "as the seasoning" rather than at the center of the show.

Reflecting on his seven-season run, Yang acknowledged he was never the central anchor—such as playing the dad or the straight-man teacher—but rather carved out a specific, beloved niche in sketch comedy.

After clips from the interview began circulating online, Jones' remarks quickly prompted reactions across social media, where many users debated her criticism of how her characters were written on Saturday Night Live.

You can view reactions here:

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In addition to having earned three Emmy Award nominations for her work on the show, Jones described SNL as a “great foundation” and a “great place” for comics to go find themselves and “get love.”

She said:

“You have to just go in there and be who you are and stand on business, that's it. It showed me a part of myself that I had never opened up before. The part that I had probably been hiding from people—the ones that y'all love now.”

Taken together, Jones' comments painted a nuanced picture of her Saturday Night Live experience, acknowledging both the challenges she faced and the lasting impact the show had on her as a performer.