Transcript

Commercial Narrator (0:01)

Amazon has everything for everyone on your list. Like your teenage son who has sprouted the sorriest excuse for a mustache you have ever seen. Get him an electric razor. And with Amazon early holiday deals, you'll.

Jesse David Fox (0:13)

Save big avoiding your unfinished home projects because you're not sure where to start. Thumbtack knows homes, so you don't have to. Don't know the difference between matte paint finish and satin or what that clunking sound from your dryer is. With Thumbtack, you don't have to be a home pro, you just have to hire one. You can hire top rated pros, see price estimates and read reviews all on the app download today.

Leslie Jones (0:40)

And I remember it was Ronda Rousey and Selena Gomez and we were in rehearsal and Ronda Rousey walks to the, to the stage. She trips and does a backflip and lands on our feet. And we all just was like, is that bitch Spider Man?

Jesse David Fox (1:02)

This is good one. I am Jesse David Fox, senior writer and vulture and author of comedy book. My guest today is Leslie Jones. We discussed her newest peacock Stand up Special, Life Part 2, Her Favorite Saturday Night Live sketches, and how she wishes people could see the version of Ghostbusters they filmed instead of the one that was released. So here is Leslie Jones. I'm here with Leslie Jones. Thank you for joining me. What's the funniest thing that happened to you this week?

Leslie Jones (1:26)

I don't know if it's the funniest thing, but we went to the Chris Brown concert, which was, by the way, Chris, if you ever, okay. Decide to get a cougar. I am your cougar. Okay. I will make you the best grilled cheese sandwiches you've ever had. But they, we were in a suite, like, in a suite, like, and they got into a full brawl in the suite. Next, the two girls got into a straight. Like, I'm talking about, have you ever seen a players club like that fight scene? It was like that. And then maybe 15 minutes later, they were dancing with each other. So we're like, Kristen took you through several emotions. Damn. Yeah. So, yeah, that was crazy.

Jesse David Fox (2:15)

So I think of careers in, in show businesses. There's sort of errors. People go in and, and like, especially even as you lay it out in your book, it's like SNL is sort of this, your career builds to it and it says different errors that build to it. So what I want to start with, you left SNL in 2019. How would you describe the era of these last five, six years?

Leslie Jones (2:34)

Oh, just like what, doing things that I really want to do, like, the touring and doing a couple of movies and, you know, just being free to do my own projects and, you know, write my own comedy. Write, you know, who I am, you know. You know, let people know who I am as a whole, you know, because when I was at snl, you know, they, they, you know, they, they make you into a certain character that you, you know, play that people know you from. Because it's really funny when people come up to me and be like, snl. They. I, I'm. I'm. I'm such a big fan. I'm. I'm such a big fan. When you were on snl. And I'll be like, nah, you're not a real big fan. Because I was 47, so I had, like, 40 years of a career before that. So if you was really. But I do understand because that's when they actually, I was discovered by them, so that I take into appreciation. But I'd be like, yeah, I've been. It's not over. I started in 87.

Summary

Good One: A Podcast About Jokes

Episode Summary – “Leslie Jones Laughs at Harvey Weinstein and Her Time on SNL”

Release Date: October 30, 2025
Host: Jesse David Fox (Vulture Senior Editor)
Guest: Leslie Jones

Episode Overview

This episode features the comedian Leslie Jones in a candid, hilarious, and unflinchingly honest conversation with Jesse David Fox. They explore Jones’s new Peacock stand-up special “Life Part 2,” dig deep into her creative process, reflect on her years at Saturday Night Live (SNL), and examine why fearless, personal, and sometimes provocative comedy matters. The episode is packed with stories about crowd work, classic SNL memories, the joke-writing process, the infamous Harvey Weinstein joke in her special, and Leslie’s philosophy on comedy, growth, and personal contentment.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Leslie's Life After SNL and the Meaning of "Life Part 2"

Freedom Post-SNL (02:34)
- Jones describes post-SNL life as “just doing things that I really want to do, like the touring and doing movies... just being free to do my own projects and write my own comedy. Let people know who I am as a whole.”
- On fans only knowing her from SNL:
  Leslie: “If you was really a fan, you would know I started in ‘87!”
Theme of Her New Special (03:35)
- “Life Part 2” is about what it feels like to hit a new era as an older adult and look back at the wildness and freedom of youth.
On Growth as a Comic (04:34)
- Leslie feels she’s softened: “I used to be a beast... now it’s like, I don’t give a fuck. I’m more like, I know you’re gonna laugh.”

Joke-writing, Performing, and Navigating Serious Material

On the Harvey Weinstein Joke (07:36, 08:57)
- Leslie unpacks the infamous joke about Weinstein in her special, revealing the personal, self-deprecating roots behind the bit.
  - Leslie: “I have fucked the most unhelpful men in my... None of them had hookups... maybe at the liquor store... but nobody that could get me a movie.”
  - “Yes, he’s probably very terrible, but... if he said I was going to get a movie, I probably would have fucked him.”
- Discusses balancing humor with sensitivity:
  “Does it mean I want to take away from the women who it happened to? No. Does that make sense? It really is just about me, you know?” (10:40)
On Testing Material (13:03)
- The Harvey Weinstein/ Cosby joke always landed: “When you’re writing a joke, you make yourself laugh first. The hard part is the tags and riffs– the punchline is there.”
- Whitney Cummings contributed a tag about Cosby: “You made me sleep all night or some shit.” (13:45)
Role of Her Creative Partner, Lenny (14:25)
- Lenny helps structure her chaos: “You’re just a bucking horse on stage... You need a set list. The Rolling Stones have a set list!”
Jones’s Comedy Philosophy (16:18)
- “Comedy is not jokes, it’s expression... People think it’s easy, they think it’s just writing jokes, but it’s how you express it.”
The Performance Element (17:41)
- “If I was just sitting here and we was talking, I’d be like, I fucked Harvey Weinstein. All y’all would be like: ‘What? Girl, what’s wrong with you?’”
- Leslie’s act-out at the end of the Weinstein bit is key—she puts on glasses and does a “classy old lady” voice, exclaiming:
  “Harvey was a dirty motherfucker. Like, I’m about to tell you the tea... His dick looked like a gelta fish.” (18:57, 19:14)
On Controversy and Offense in Comedy (19:27)
- “Comedy shows are completely offensive. They’re supposed to be. They’re supposed to make you feel something... Our job is not to be therapists. It is therapy—it’s laugh therapy.” (20:52)

Physical & Crowd Work: Act-Outs and Audience Interaction

Physical Comedy Influences (23:18)
- Jones idolizes John Ritter & Lucille Ball: “You just cannot stop—when he would fall over the couch, I would lose my shit.”
Crowd Work Evolution (25:04)
- She doesn't do as much audience work now due to fame and possible backlash: “Now you gotta get consent forms! Can you imagine if I had to get consent forms back in the day?”
Memorable Crowd Work Story (26:32)
- After smacking a woman (in a playful bit), the club manager wanted Leslie to apologize:
  “Abso fucking lutely not... If anything, I’m gonna hit that bitch again!”
  - Turns out, the woman just wanted to take a picture with her.

SNL Memories & Behind-the-Scenes

SNL50 and the Pre-Show (28:14)
- Lauren Michaels handpicked her: “He was like, ‘I know you’re gonna... you know how to handle the people.’”
- Fandom moments: Meeting Meryl Streep (“We had a conversation. I was like, Oh, my God”), Nathan Lane, and Jodie Foster.
Black Jeopardy with Tracy Morgan & Eddie Murphy (30:19)
- “Eddie was imitating Tracy—at rehearsal, no one could stop laughing.”
Reconciling the Good and Bad of SNL (31:12)
- “It’s just like any job. There’s gonna be good times, there’s gonna be bad times... Now, is SNL a big stress? Yes. It’s mentally and physically hard.”
- On SNL’s institution status: “Lauren is like a puppet master, he has to make people in California and Omaha laugh at the same thing. Do you know how hard that is?” (32:18)
Her Table Read Laugh Was Famous (35:05)
- Cast and writers would angle to sit near her for feedback:
  “If I didn’t laugh, I’d say it: ‘I don’t like that one.’... I’d laugh so hard, it started becoming where writers would come into my room: ‘Hey, we about to do this sketch... you think you’ll laugh?’”
Selected SNL Sketches & Stories
- Weezer Sketch (39:28): At first, neither she nor Matt Damon knew who Weezer was; Leslie played the role using Marvin Gaye as her frame of reference.
  “Turned out so funny... Fred Armisen told me it was one of the funniest things he’d seen.”
- House Hunters (40:32): With Live Schreiber – “He was psycho enough that we killed that sketch.”
- Naked and Afraid (with Peter Dinklage) (41:17): Leslie pitched it; brought her own hot sauce as a prop; crew lost it laughing at her and Dinklage in the tent.
- Back Home Ballers (43:10): Her first big pre-tape, did her part in one take: “That’s when they realized they were gonna put me in every pre-tape ever.”
- Leslie Wants to Play Trump (43:55): She lobbied to do a Trump impression, “Lauren, I want to be Trump.” The pre-tape was written for her.
Weekend Update: Addressing the Ghostbusters Photo Hack (50:22)
- Leslie wasn’t embarrassed about the hack itself, just people’s reactions:
  “You’re making me the total victim... I’m not a fucking victim. I took those pictures... I have no problem with showing you a naked picture of me.”
  - She insisted on “owning it” in the way she addressed it on SNL.
Ghostbusters – The Uncut Movie (53:10)
- The film released wasn’t the one filmed:
  “Sony need to release the movie we actually did. The movie we did was fucking brilliant... They left out a lot. Chris Hemsworth did a dance number that should have been in the movie, not just the credits.”
- Recounts a deleted Kristin Wiig/Melissa McCarthy dance scene:
  “Melissa loved to break me. That was her goal in life, is to break me.” (55:30)

Comedy Philosophy, Self-Realization, and Healing

On Finding Joy and Light (62:36–64:13)
- Leslie discusses losing the “light in her eyes” as a child, and how she had to rebuild her sense of self and happiness after deep personal losses:
  - “You are the one that can find your joy... You have to build love in yourself for yourself. You have to do it. Not someone else, Not a husband, not a boyfriend, not a best friend.”
- “You can’t give what you don’t have... You are your best friend.” (64:15)
The Process Toward Contentment (64:51)
- After losing family members: “You have to prepare yourself for the dream... It’s the same thing with happiness... Is your body okay? Is your brain okay?... There’s a process.”
On Her Funeral Bit (66:21)
- Her special ends with an idealized, over-the-top funeral fantasy:
  “If I’m gonna have a long funeral, it’s gonna be the funeral that I want... I want my body burnt in a stick. You remember Game of Thrones when she burnt all the...that’s how I want to go.”

Notable Quotes & Moments

On Her Start in Comedy:
“I started in ‘87. If you was really a fan, you would know!” (02:34)
On Maturation as a Comic:
“I used to be a beast...now I feel like I’ve softened up because I’m not as hungry... Now it’s like, I don’t give a fuck. I want them to laugh, but I know they will.” (04:34)
On Working Out Jokes:
“When you’re writing a joke, you make yourself laugh first... A really, really good comedian already has the punchline made, it's just about riffing the rest around it.” (13:03)
On Offense in Comedy:
“Comedy shows are completely offensive. They’re supposed to be. They’re supposed to make you feel something... Our job is not to be therapists. It is therapy—it’s laugh therapy.” (20:52)
On Crowd Work:
“Now you got to get consent forms. Can you imagine back in the day?” (25:57)
On Her SNL Table Read Influence:
“I got snacks, everything by my chair, and I’m like, Oh, that’s fucking funny! ...I just think it started becoming aware, let’s laugh at the sketch, it might get into the show.” (35:05)
On Self-Acceptance:
“You are the one that can find your joy. No one can give you joy. No one can make you happy. You shouldn’t even be trying to be happy, you should be trying to be content.” (62:36)

The Laughing Round (Lightning Round) (69:16+)

Favorite Joke:
A midget gets on the elevator with a man who says, “I’m 6 feet tall, weigh 250, bench 350, and my name’s Turner Brown,” and the midget faints, thinking he said, “Turn around.” (69:30)
Mount Rushmore of comedians:
“George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Moms Mabley, Pearl Bailey, Simply Marvelous.” (73:57)
On "Shock Humor":
“I hate shock humor. Shock material is just dumb... It’s mean stuff. Comedy's not supposed to be mean.” (72:29)

Highlighted Timestamps

Discussing her comedy philosophy: 16:18 – 18:02
On performing offensive material: 19:27 – 21:18
Classic SNL anecdotes: 35:01 – 47:03
Harvey Weinstein joke breakdown: 07:36 – 13:45
On healing, therapy, and self-love: 62:04 – 66:12
The Laughing Round (fav jokes, influences): 69:16 – 78:33

Conclusion

This episode of Good One offers an unfiltered look at Leslie Jones’s evolution as a comedian and as a person, featuring deep dives into her material, especially jokes that straddle the line between pain and hilarity. Jones’s insights on the demands of comedy, the experience of being a Black woman in a historically white institution like SNL, and her unvarnished thoughts on vulnerability, self-acceptance, and healing are both powerfully funny and profound—a must-listen for comedy fans, SNL aficionados, and anyone interested in the interplay of humor and real life.

For Further Listening

Leslie’s stand-up specials: “Problem Child,” “Time Machine,” and “Life Part 2”
Her memoir: “Leslie Fucking Jones”
More episodes of Good One on Vulture and Vox Media