Leslie Jones Revisits The Fear Behind Her Loudest Career Leap
Dig out comedian Queen Leslie Jones taking a hilarious—but unexpectedly vulnerable—trip through her own television past. For Entertainment Tonight’s ET Then & Now, Jones watches archival footage and looks back at the career leap that placed her inside one of comedy’s most intimidating institutions.
The version of Leslie Jones audiences know now appears fearless, loud and ready to challenge anyone within shouting distance. But when she first entered Saturday Night Live, she says the reality was very different: she was petrified.
ET THEN & NOW
Leslie Jones Watches Her Own Career Come Roaring Back
Visit Entertainment Tonight for the original career retrospective, then revisit Leslie Jones’ comedy and television work.
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SNL Looked Very Different From Inside Studio 8H
Jones had already spent years developing her voice through stand-up, but SNL required a different kind of confidence. Live television, tight production schedules, constant rewrites and the pressure of earning space inside a massive ensemble can make even an experienced comedian question every instinct.
That is what makes her admission land. The performer who would eventually charge through sketches and Weekend Update appearances with complete command was initially trying to survive the fear of whether she belonged there at all.
Kenan Thompson Became The Calm Inside The Chaos
Jones credits Kenan Thompson with helping her through that uncertainty. By the time she joined the show, Thompson already understood Studio 8H’s rhythms, politics and unique emotional weather better than nearly anyone.
His support gave Jones something essential: a colleague who understood both the machinery of SNL and the added pressure she carried while trying to establish herself. He did not need to transform her into a different performer. He helped her trust the one who was already there.
Their friendship would become one of the most meaningful relationships of Jones’ run. Onscreen, they could match each other’s energy. Offscreen, Thompson appears to have offered the steadiness she needed while everything around them moved at live-television speed.
ET’s Archive Shows The Confidence Arriving In Real Time
The fun of ET Then & Now comes from placing the original footage beside the person who lived through it. Jones can now see the nerves, ambition and determination without having to remain trapped inside them.
Watching those moments now also reveals how quickly Jones’ greatest strength became obvious. She never sounded like a performer assembled by committee. Once the fear loosened its grip, she brought the full force of her stand-up persona into television and made the camera adjust to her.
Roast My Rental Gives Leslie Jones A Fresh Place To Judge
The retrospective arrives as Jones takes on new hosting duties with HGTV’s Roast My Rental. The 11-episode series premiered July 24 and pairs her with renovation expert Jasmine Roth.
Together, they confront disastrous short-term rentals, call out misleading listings and questionable design decisions, then attempt to transform each property in just 72 hours. It is a role almost suspiciously suited to Jones: enter a bad room, say exactly what everyone is thinking and refuse to let the nonsense survive.
The woman who once worried whether she could survive SNL now walks into television formats and immediately makes them hers. That may be the most satisfying difference between Leslie Jones then and Leslie Jones now.
Watch Leslie Jones Revisit Her SNL Fears On ET Then & Now
Leslie Jones watches archival footage, recalls feeling petrified at Saturday Night Live and explains how Kenan Thompson helped her find her footing.
Source: Entertainment Tonight. Roast My Rental details via HGTV.
