If you’ve seen three-time Emmy nominee Leslie Jones — maybe during her years on “Saturday Night Live,” or as cohost of the sketch comedy show’s red carpet special, in her 2020 Netflix stand-up special, “Time Machine,” or at her live sets — you know she’s 6 feet of quips, say-anything comedy, raucous energy, often self-induced laughter, and, she says, self-confidence.
I witnessed all those traits in our phone interview, sometimes all in one answer, as when I asked about her audition for “SNL” at 47 years old. “I really just went to show them how good I was,” she quipped with a big laugh.
Recently named to Vogue’s list of “20 of the Funniest Female Comedians of All Time,” Jones, 57, joins Kevin Hart, Aziz Ansari, “Seinfeld” costars John O’Hurley and Patrick Warburton, fellow “SNL” alum Melissa Villaseñor, “The Daily Show” correspondent Josh Johnson, and many more as part of Lil Rhody Laugh Riot.
The four-day, multi-venue event, hosted by The Veterans Memorial Auditorium Providence, aka The VETS, runs March 27-30 in Providence and is, organizers say, “the biggest comedy festival that’s ever come to Rhode Island.”
You can also catch Jones in Burlington, Vt., on March 26, Nashua, N.H., on March 27, and Keene, N.H., on March 28. (“I call it my yacht music tour,” she says with a laugh.)
An “SNL” cast member from 2014-2019, Jones has costarred with a few “SNL” alumni in movies, including 2016’s “Ghostbusters,” with Kristen Wiig and Kate McKinnon; Kenan Thompson in “Good Burger 2,” and Eddie Murphy in “Coming 2 America,” with that last one earning her a 2021 MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance.
You might also know her as a vocal Olympics-lover who has hilariously live tweeted and Instagrammed her viewing of various Games. She served as NBC’s “chief superfan commentator” for Paris 2024 coverage. If you associate her with the Olympics? “Everybody does. We thought that, too,” she says with a laugh. “They just decided to go with Snoop” as special correspondent.
We talked Rhode Island medical emergencies, “SNL” memories, Olympic tweets, advice from Jamie Foxx, and more.
Q. So you’ll be headlining the fest in Rhode Island soon.
A. Yeah, you know, the last time I was at Rhode Island, I was with these other comedians and one had — what’s the thing that happens to men where the rock comes out the thing? We had to ride with him, and he was in pain the whole time. [laughs] I’m sorry. That’s the memory of Rhode Island that I have.
Q. Wait, what happened? Kidney stones?
A. He had gall stones. He was screaming the whole time. This was like 20, 30 years ago. That’s the memory I have of Rhode Island.
Q. Where were you playing?
A. I’m not sure. It wasn’t a major place. [But] we had to stop and drop him off at the hospital. It was crazy, because he was literally screaming. It was terrible. [laughs] It was terrible.
Q. And that was the last time you were here?
A. I think so.
Q. [laughs] Wow. So what made you want to be a part of this fest?
A. Well, they asked me. I love doing comedy. I’m a stand-up first. I hadn’t been to Rhode Island in a long time, and I thought, “Yeah, let’s do it.”
Q. With “SNL 50,” it’s been a big year for alumni looking back. Chris Rock helped get you on “SNL.”
A. Yes. He saw me do a set at The Comedy Store. I think he had dinner or something with Lorne [Michaels, creator and producer of “SNL”] and mentioned me. And that was it. They called me to audition.
Q. Were you confident going in?
A. I’m always confident.
Q. [laughs]
A. I might’ve been too confident, you know what I’m saying? Because by then, I was an established comedian. I didn’t plan on being on the show. I really just went to show them how good I was. I was like, “I’m not a sketch comic. What the [expletive]? I’m just gonna go and let them know, though, that I’m the dopest stand-up ever.”
Q. Were you surprised they wanted you?
A. I was surprised I wanted it, know what I’m saying? By the end of the audition, my mind changed. So when they were like, “Yeah, we’re interested.” I was like, “OK, well, let’s do this. This is gonna be another part of my life.” I was 47 at the time.
Q. “SNL” must’ve felt like it came out of the blue.
A. It did. I actually got mad at Chris for getting me the audition. When he called me about it, I was like, “What? What are you talking about? ‘SNL?’ I’m not a [expletive] sketch artist! This is stupid.” He was like, “Just go. I’m not gonna argue with you about this — are you stupid?” He just hung up on me. [laughs]
Q. How did you like it once you joined? Did you feel comfortable doing sketches right away?
A. No, I absolutely did not. It was very hard. Every weekend I felt like I was bombing until they got me on the [“Weekend Update”] desk and I started feeling a bit more comfortable.
Q. Favorite sketches?
A. That’s hard to say, because it was always fun. Whenever we did [Shanice Goodwin] Ninja. Anytime they had me singing was always fun. Anything with Kenan or Kate [McKinnon.] Cecily [Strong] was insanely talented — anything she did I laughed at.
Q. You were in “Good Burger 2” with Kenan Thompson. That filmed partly in Rhode Island, but your part was filmed in LA, you said. What was your reaction when they asked you to be in it?
A. Well, I’m never excited about being in movies. [laughs]
Q. No?
A. I was like, “I’ll do it for you.” But it was fun. It turned out to be great.
Q. So stand-up is your passion.
A. It’s my passion.
Q. You grew up in Memphis and initially went to college on a basketball scholarship. You tried stand-up on a whim.
A. Yeah, my friend entered me into a comedy contest in college. And from the time I touched the mic, I knew I was gonna be a comedian.
Q. In what way? What feeling did you get?
A. I just knew. It was pretty much me touching the mic and going, “OK, yeah. This is what I’m gonna be doing the rest of my life.”
Q. Had you wanted to be a comedian before that?
A. No. I had no idea I was a comedian. My dad was an electronic engineer. I didn’t know what I was. I knew I was funny because everybody liked to hang around me because I was silly. But I didn’t think of myself as a comedian.
Q. That first open-mic was life-changing. So you left college.
A. I went to LA to start pursuing it. I got on a comedy show; Jamie Foxx was the headliner. Jamie told me “You’re only 19, you need to go out and live life for a little while.” That was in ’87. I did that, and then went back in ’93.
Q. Was there a moment you felt like you made it?
A. Yeah. Several times when I hadn’t really. [laughs]
Q. Why did you leave “SNL”?
A. It was time. I was older — I wasn’t young when I got there. It was [realizing] if I don’t leave now, I won’t be able to leave. There’s a lot of other things I want to do. It was time to make that move.
Q. You’re an Olympics fan. Do you think you’d be joining for the Winter Olympics?
A. Not sure. I think I’m good. After this Olympics, and the way everything went, I’m just gonna let them have Snoop. That’s who they picked. So I’m just gonna sit and enjoy the Olympics by myself. [laughs]
Q. No more live-tweeting?
A. Probably not.
LIL RHODY LAUGH RIOT
March 29, 4 p.m., at the Vets, 1 Avenue of the Arts, Providence. 18+ event. Details here. Tickets from $59.50 with fee.
Interview was edited and condensed.
Lauren Daley can be reached at ldaley33@gmail.com. She tweets @laurendaley1.
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