Leslie Jones Talks Voting and Protests With Seth Meyers
Leslie Jones Opens Up About Protesting in the '90s and Encourages Young People to Vote
As impassioned demonstrations and protests continue nationwide in the wake of George Floyd's death, celebrities are using their social media platforms to promote a long-term form of protest: voting. In an interview on Late Night With Seth Meyers, former Saturday Night Live star Leslie Jones sat down to explain the importance of taking voting seriously and to discuss her personal experience with participating in the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
"There was nothing you could've said to me back then — I was ready to burn it down," Leslie told Seth. Similar to the protests happening today, the 1992 LA riots took place after four officers were acquitted of violently beating then 25-year-old Rodney King, despite the existence of widespread footage that showed otherwise. "We have a president that's standing up there calling us thugs and sending out National Guard — he's not listening to anything that anyone's gonna say," Leslie added. "I think the only thing he's gonna listen to is votes, and this is why I was telling everybody if you're gonna change something, you have to fight the same fight that they're fighting."
Leslie went on to discuss the powerful effects voting can have on the country and on society as a whole, making it clear that every vote counts. "I think we all just need to realise that we're all humans living on the same Earth, and we need to start working together before we don't have nothing."
