Like, when I was forty-five.” She was a woman in a field dominated by men, and an African-American in an industry that remained disturbingly segregated. “I remember some nights where I was, like, ‘All right, this comedy shit just ain’t working out,’ ” she told me recently. She was forty-six, and had been a standup comedian for more than a quarter century her peers respected her, but that respect rarely translated into high-paying gigs. I hate that shit.” End of introduction.Ĭomedians are combatants: they “kill,” they “bomb,” they “destroy.” Such bluster can mask insecurity, and Jones had good reason to feel defensive. “Funniest comedian in the game,” Jones interrupted. “I’ve been waiting to sit her ass down for a minute,” Owen Smith said.

“This is gonna be kind of a hot one,” Ali LeRoi said. A couple of years ago, the co-hosts of a podcast called “Alias Smith and LeRoi” began this way, speaking about their guest, the comedian Leslie Jones, as if she were not there. The host often launches into an introduction while the guest sits quietly in the same sound booth. On podcasts, the etiquette is still being worked out. On TV talk shows, the host introduces a guest, then music plays while the guest emerges from backstage.

Problem child leslie jones