Comedian and “Ghostbusters” star Leslie Jones, who was the victim of race-baiting tweets last month, has had her website hacked, resulting in private photographs as well as images of her passport and California driver’s license being posted online.
One or more hackers accessed Jones’ smartphone or iCloud, TMZ.com, the first to report the news, said Wednesday morning. The hacker posted nude photos of the “Saturday Night Live” cast-member, 48, as well of a video of Harambe, the gorilla killed by zookeepers in Ohio earlier this year. Racist Twitter trolls had compared the African-American Jones to Harambe in July.
The hacks are now being investigated by Homeland Security, the federal department confirmed Thursday. “ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] Homeland Security Investigations in New York does currently have an open investigation,” a DHS spokesperson told Deadline.com Thursday. “As a matter of agency policy, we are unable to disclose any information related to an active investigation.”
The tech site Gizmodo.com said the images and video reportedly were on her personal Tumblr website, justleslie.com. That site was taken down, Gizmodo said, and replaced first by a Tumblr 404 screen and then a GoDaddy landing page. As of early Wednesday afternoon, that page was completely blank.
On July 21, Jones returned to Twitter after a three-day break after enduring a barrage of racist comments, which ultimately led to intervention by the site’s co-founder and the banning of a right-wing technology editor for helping encourage the abuse.
Jones has not commented publicly on the hack, but several Twitter users, including celebrities, sent her their support.
Journalist and nonfiction author Mary Beth Williams tweeted Wednesday, “No words today. Leslie Jones gets doxxed,” a term meaning the online dissemination of private information. “The amount of abuse hurled in particular at women of color is breathtaking,” she added. “What a waste, to be so full of hate & ignorance.”
The Roots’ drummer Questlove tweeted on Wednesday, “these acts against leslie jones….are sickening. its racist & sexist. it’s disgusting. this is hate crimes. this aint ‘kids joshing round.’ ”
Oscar-winning supporting actresses Octavia Spencer (2011’s “The Help”), and Patricia Arquette (2014’s “Boyhood”) also came to Jones’ defense.
“This @Lesdoggg [Jones’ Twitter handle] attack is troubling,” Spencer tweeted. “The rampant racism percolating in society right now is shameful and sad. She made a movie, that’s it!”
Arquette wrote on her Twitter page: “FYI sharing stolen intimate photos like @Lesdoggg’s is illegal.”
Also upset, Katy Perry joined in on Jones’ side.
“Do not give your eyeballs to this racist, hate-filled, misogynoir[sic] crime,” the “Roar” singer tweeted. “I #StandWithLeslie.”
