Leslie Jones.Photo: Will Heath/NBC
Standup comedy is not for the faint of heart. But neither is sketch comedy.
That’s a lessonLeslie Jones— who sat down with PEOPLE in this week’s issue ahead of the Sept. 19 release of her new memoirLeslie F*cking Jones— says she had to learn the hard way after landing atSaturday Night Liveas a writer back in 2014.
Then 47, she’d already worked tirelessly to make a name for herself on the standup circuit. But, before she’d go on to become an Emmy-nominated standoutSNLcast member, known for her hilarious turns at the show’sWeekend Updatedesk, Jones still had her work cut out for her.
With a star-making five-year run on the show, “There were so many things that I could have put in [this book],” Jones, 56, says of writing about herSNLdays in her new memoir.
Leslie Jones, Colin Jost and Michael Che.Will Heath/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty
Will Heath/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty
Here is an exclusive excerpt of one moment that made the cut. Jones shares an earlySNLexperience involving guest hostMelissa McCarthy, which served as a stepping stone on her path from behind-the-scenes writer to performer.To listen to Leslie Jones read from her memoir, click below. A content note: Jones uses language that may not be suitable for all listeners.
One of my first sketch pitches was the moment I learned that pitching was something I had to work at. I wrote and pitched a sketch to Melissa McCarthy. It was the sketch version of a joke I had been doing which I nicknamed “Big Women in the House.”
Melissa McCarthy.
I even created a jingle for it: “Real women got real curves, real women got real swerves!” The whole point was, we may be bigger than skinny b—-es, but we’re the size that women really are—those skinny b—-es are starving! You’re not supposed to be a size zero. But Melissa really wasn’t feeling it.
I had the biggest lump in my throat. OMG—did I not explain it right? I was horrified. The truth was, something I always kill at—being funny—I wasn’t killing at in my early days at SNL. I found myself crying from frustration and anger, and Michael Che came and talked to me.
“Do you know how many times you’re going to have to pitch to people?” he said. “You’re going to need a thicker skin.”
Later that week at the SNL afterparty (it was, coincidentally, also Seth Meyers’s leaving party) Melissa came up to me.
Leslie Jones.Ethan Miller/Getty
Ethan Miller/Getty
“I just want to tell you that that sketch wasn’t for me—you wrote that sketch for you,” she said. “That’s really a you sketch—you should be doing that sketch.”
“Well, babe,” I said, “I’m not a cast member or a host. So, what do I do now?”
“Well,” she said, “I’m just letting you know. I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”
“You didn’t hurt my feelings,” I said, “but I did want to fight you, though.” Thank God she laughed at that, because I just wanted to make her laugh. And then she hugged me.
For more on Jones’s raw new memoir and rocky road to stardom, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE on newsstands Friday.
source: people.com
