THE INTERNET IS EVIL: LESLIE JONES QUITS TWITTER AFTER BEING CYBERBULLIED
The ladies of this summer's Ghostbusters reboot have been the victim of Internet abuse ever since it was announced that the remake would feature all female leads, shedding an ugly light on the level of sexism that still pervades this ｃountry. But none of the film's stars have faced as much cyberbullying as comedian Leslie Jones, who finally quit Twitter last night after flurries of racist and sexist messages following the movie's release this weekend.
Jones has one of the film's breakout performances, which should come as a surprise to no one: along with her Ghostbusters co-star Kate McKinnon, she is one of the female comedians responsible for breathing life back into Saturday Night Live these past few seasons. In a show of support, the film's director, Paul Feig, came to Jones' defense on Twitter, even creating a hashtag: #LoveforLeslieJ.
Jones engaged in exhaustive online battles with her harassers—who even went so far as to make fake Leslie Jones acｃounts, which they used to tweet their own racist commentary—the most prominent of them being conservative GamerGate advocate Milo Yiannopoulos, whom Twitter has since banned in an effort to crack down on bullying. Yiannopoulous, who operated under the handle @Nero, responded to the banishment in an interview on Tuesday saying, "This is the beginning of the end of Twitter. Some people are going to find this perfectly acceptable,” he said. “Anyone who believes in free speech or is a conservative certainly will not.”
In a statement, Twitter stood firm, insisting that “People should be able to express diverse opinions and beliefs on Twitter. But no one deserves to be subjected to targeted abuse online, and our rules prohibit inciting or engaging in the targeted abuse or harassment of others.”
Understandably, it was not enough to keep Jones from leaving her post, no longer willing to tolerate the injustice. As the comedian herself said, "all [she] did was make a movie." Let her story be a harrowing reminder that in America in 2016, no one, and no where, is safe from sexism and racism—not even Hollywood.
Source: http://vmagazine.com/article/leslie-jones-leaves-twitter-cyberbullied/
Image Source: http://cdn.inquisitr.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Leslie-Jones-of-Ghostbusters.jpg
Vocabulary Words:
1. Cyberbullying - (noun) the activity of using messages on social networking sites, emails, text messages, etc. to frighten or upset somebody
2. Reboot - (verb) to start something again or do something again, in a way that is new and interesting
3. Pervade - (verb) spread through and be perceived in every part of
4. Flurry - (noun) an occasion when there is a lot of activity, interest, excitement, etc. within a short period of time
5. Prominent - (adj.) important or well known
6. Crack down - (noun) severe action taken to restrict the activities of criminals or of people opposed to the government or somebody in authority
7. Diverse - (adj.) very different from each other and of various kinds
8. Harrowing - (adj.) extremely disturbing or distressing grievous
Discussion Questions:
1. What do you know about cyberbullying? Tell me about it.
2. In your ｃountry, are there laws against cyberbullying and harrassment?
3. What measures should Social Networking Sites (SNS) take when it comes to cyberbullying and harrassment?
4. In your opinion, do you think celebrities are targeted more when it comes to being cyberbullied? Why?
5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using social networking sites?
