Leslie Jones was present for the Rodney King riots in 1992, and says the experience doesn’t make her optimistic about the protests now
In addition to thoroughly roasting Seth Meyers’s attic and the “little bitty doors” behind him , Saturday Night Live alum Leslie Jones had some insight to offer during last night’s Late Night when asked to reflect on the George Floyd protests. Jones, who is 52, was present for the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles in 1992, and she told Meyers that the experience doesn’t make her optimistic about the protests now.
Jones was 22 years old during the L.A. riots, so she told Meyers that she understands the perspective of young protesters today and that there’s nothing that can be said to stop them. “There was nothing you could’ve said to me back then — I was ready to burn it down,” she said, adding that while the riots led to no real consequences for the officers who beat King up, the destruction in L.A. affected black businesses for years, which Jones described as “burning down our own house.
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