UPDATED July 19, 8:55 p.m. ET: Twitter is finally taking action. "This type of abusive behavior is not permitted on Twitter, and we've taken action on many of the accounts reported to us by both Leslie and others," the tech company said in a statement. "We rely on people to report this type of behavior to us but we are continuing to invest heavily in improving our tools and enforcement systems to prevent this kind of abuse. We realize we still have a lot of work in front of us before Twitter is where it should be on how we handle these issues."
UPDATED July 19, 1:20 a.m. ET
Leslie Jones, star of Ghostbusters and Saturday Night Live cast member, exposed Twitter trolls on Monday for sending her racist, hateful, and even graphic messages. Some of the horrible messages included pictures of apes, with frequent comparisons of Jones to Harambe the gorilla killed at Cincinnati Zoo, and one message saying she was the source of AIDS.
Earlier today Jones tweeted she’d stop blocking nasty comments people send her so that people could see the tweets for themselves. “You won't believe the evil,” Jones tweeted.
Some people on here are fucking disgusting. I'm blocking your filthy ass if retweet that perverted shit. Just know that now bitches!!
Ok I have been called Apes, sent pics of their asses,even got a pic with semen on my face. I'm tryin to figure out what human means. I'm out
You know I'm gonna stop blocking so y'all can go through my feed yourself and see the bs. You won't believe the evil. It's fucking scary
It's so sad,most of these comments sound like they are from ignorant children. "I'm the source of AIDS?!" WTF!! These people hate themselves
Jones also told people to take action and report the the accounts tweeting these comments at her. Here's some of the comments:
Exposing I hope y'all go after them like they going after me pic.twitter.com/ojK5FdIA0H
Yep so sad these people have mothers and sisters and aunts. So fucking sickening pic.twitter.com/fEVLEgUfGh
Jones quickly received support from fans and celebs alike, including her Ghostbusters director Paul Feig, with the hashtag #LoveForLeslieJ becoming a trending topic on Twitter.
Leslie Jones is one of the greatest people I know. Any personal attacks against her are attacks against us all. #LoveForLeslieJ @Lesdoggg
Stand with @Lesdoggg #loveforlesliej she is an inspiration and a legend in the making pic.twitter.com/dqotlPAETd
These racist, fuckwit trolls are just threatened by a strong, black, FUCKING HILARIOUS, successful black woman. #LoveForLeslieJ @Lesdoggg
The vile acts of racism and white fragility that @Lesdoggg is facing on her Twitter feed is absolutely disgusting. #America2016
Hey, @twitter & @twittersupport: You need to head to @Lesdoggg's feed & start deleting the accounts of the racist shits spewing crap at her.
Jones later returned to Twitter to say she felt "numb" after seeing all of the hateful tweets, but also explained she's "human" and "real" and that's why she's hurt about the comments she's getting.
I'm more human and real than you fucking think.I work my ass off. I'm not different than any of you who has a dream to do what they love.
It's like when you think "ok I've proven I'm worthy" then you get hit with a shovel of hated. I'm numb. I mean I know there is racism.
But I'm I that naive to think that some things was changing yes I was. We still live in a world where we have to say "black lives matter"
She also directed herself at Twitter saying she understood there’s free speech, but that some of the people tweeting these negative comments at her are “crazy sick” and that they should be reported because freezing their account isn’t enough.
“We have to make people take responsibility for the hate they sprew. We have to stand up to it. block mfs but let them know they are racist and sprewing [sic] hate,” she tweeted adding that ignoring people or staying quiet isn’t an option.
And she had some choice words for anyone who maybe though she shouldn't have pointed out her trolls:
"And for all the "don't stoop to their level people" it's way past that. So please have a seat. Don't tell me how to react," she tweeted. "Cause I have every right to be offended and pissed. So for right now I have to take a break."
Later in the evening, Jones tweeted that the experience made her feel like she was "in a personal hell."
She also noted that there was now a fake account posting racist and homophobic tweets in her name, and asked for help in taking it down.
