NBC under fire after blocking Leslie Jones’s Olympics commentary

Jones says it has ‘gotten too hard’ and she can not fight off the pressure anymore

File image: Leslie Jones, who has been live-tweeting Olympics since 2016 says it could be her last time doing it (Invision)

Comedian Leslie Jones has said she may stop her famous live tweets on the Olympics indicating pressure from broadcaster NBC as the reason behind it.

In a Twitter post on Monday, Jones, whose riffs on the games became an instant hit in 2016, said this could be her last Olympics, entertaining fans with her witty live tweets.

“I’m starting to feel like this should be my last Olympics I live tweet,” the former “Saturday Night Live” star wrote. “I know I know, another celebrity bitching. But I’m tired of fighting the folks who don’t want me to do it.”

Without naming NBC, which owns the broadcast rights for 2022 Winter Olympics in the US, Jones further said “they” are attempting to block her videos and “get folks who think they can do it like me.”

“I love the athletes and they love me doing it. And I know y’all love it,” the Ghostbusters: Afterlife actor said.

“But now it’s just gotten too hard. And no one is fighting with me,” the comic further wrote, adding that she’ll leave the running commentary to the professionals.

However, NBC later said a “third-party error” was responsible for blocking some of Jones’s content, not NBC itself.

“We have resolved the situation. She is free to do her social media posts as she has done in the past,” NBC spokesman Greg Hughes Hughes told The Associated Press. “She is a super fan of the Olympics and we are super fans of her.”

While Jones shied away from naming NBC directly in her post, she retweeted a bunch of tweets from fans who expressed their admiration for her witty tweets on the Games while other comics also came in her support.

“Wow. @Lesdoggg is literally the only reason I’ve seen any of the Olympics this year,” wrote comic Sarah Cooper.

“Your commentary and live tweets are a DELIGHT!! They are, in fact, the only thing that makes me want to go and watch @nbc’s actual coverage of the Olympics. Your wonder at these athletes’ achievements is so genuine, joyous, and infectious. They should be PAYING, not punishing!” a user named Snowden Becker wrote.

“I can’t believe you aren’t being sponsored or hired to do this. We are huge fans of you! It is by far one of the major highlights of my Olympics experience. On behalf of other Superfans, I hope you keep on doing it (and hope we see you again in person in France 2024, perhaps)!” a user by the name of “Olympics superfans” wrote.

“Doesn’t NBC know that Leslie Jones reacting to the Olympics is the reason why some people even watch the broadcast to begin with,” writer Amy Kuperinsky wrote.

In an earlier tweet, however, she tagged NBC and said people should ask why the broadcaster thinks she can be replaced by anyone.

“I have watched olympics since I could walk lol. Me and my dad. So this is from my heart. Y’all should be asking @NBCSports why they don’t see that. And think they can replace me with just anyone. Again not saying I was first just saying it’s frustrating. @TeamUSA,” she wrote.