Leslie Jones has lit up Twitter over the past few weeks with her hilarious commentary on cable news—including her critique of Daily Beast politics editor Sam Stein’s now infamous “schounch.” So it was a big deal on Wednesday evening when she finally made her MSNBC debut on The Reid Out with Joy Reid.
“First of all, Joy, I let them know I was not going to do any interview first but yours,” the comedian declared before breaking into an exuberant rendition of Three Dog Night’s “Joy to the World.” As she explained it, her cable news obsession began during the election with—who else?—Steve Kornacki. “Steve was at the board. I was like, ‘Who is this guy?’” she recalled. “He’s absolutely thorough and awesome. Who is he? He looks concerned, I need him in my life!”
Later, Jones, who spent six years at Saturday Night Live before leaving the show last year, told Reid how she manages to find so much joy in these dark days of politics. “I’m 53 years old, Joy. I have been through a lot of presidencies. I was around with Reagan. I have been here a long time and I have a great sense of humor,” she said. “And you have to have a great sense of humor in life. Because either you are going to cry all night or you are going to laugh. I would rather laugh.”
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Then, after singing a bit of Salt-N-Pepa’s “Whatta Man” in honor of her latest crush, Georgia Senate candidate Jon Ossoff, Jones delivered her most impassioned plea yet on behalf of the Americans who just want people to take COVID-19 seriously.
Asked if she was mad at the lawmakers who have failed to provide relief to everyone who has been “suffering” during the pandemic, Jones said, “I am not as mad at them as I am mad at us, at the people, for not making them do it.”
“How are we divided right now?” she asked. “That makes no sense. How we made the pandemic a political thing makes me absolutely enraged. And it makes me go, OK, is half of our country selfish? Are y’all selfish?! Are you really not taking it seriously?”
“Just the sight of seeing bodies in a freezer truck, Joy, how does that not break whatever it is?” Jones continued. “Even if you don’t believe it, I’m going to wear a mask just because I don’t want to be a part of the bad stuff going on. Come on, you guys! When are you going to start thinking about each other instead of our own agendas?”
Ultimately, Reid ended the interview by telling her guest, “You literally made my night. You might have made my year,” adding, “I’m retiring now.”
