The 2022 Winter Olympics are the most muted games in memory. I know there are many die-hard ski fans and ice-skating fans who are enjoying it, but here in America, the coverage is pretty bad and everything is happening in the dead of night. It would not surprise me if this was the lowest-rated Olympic games in modern television history. NBC has the rights to the Olympics (they’ve held the rights for years) and you would think that there would be emergency meetings happening at NBC corporate, trying to figure out how to make the Winter Olympics into more of a ratings-generator. You would think that NBC would take any good press they could get, and they would beg their NBC-associated celebrities to hype the f–k out of the games. Instead, NBC has shut down Leslie Jones because she’s massively enthusiastic about the Olympics and she likes to do commentary from her home and post it on social media. She’s a hype woman for the Olympics, and she’s not even being paid!
Just a few days into the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, actress and comedian Leslie Jones says she’s rethinking her much-loved video narration of all the action in Beijing. In an early-morning post on Instagram, Monday, Jones wrote that she was wondering if the Beijing Games should be “my last Olympics I live tweet.”
“I know, another celebrity bitching,” Jones, 54, wrote. “But I’m tired of fighting the folks who don’t want me to do it. They block my videos and they get folks who think they can do it like me. And I’m tired of fighting them.”
Jones didn’t specify who she was referencing when she said people didn’t want her to film the videos, though she had tagged Olympics broadcaster NBC in an earlier post. She also added, “I love the athletes and they love me doing it. And I know ya’ll love it. But now it’s gotten too hard. And no one is fighting for or with me. Soooo I guess I’ll leave it to the professionals. But thank you for all the love. #uptoyallnow.”
In the caption of her post, the star wrote, “Leslie Jones does not stay anywhere I’m not welcomed. #uptoyallnow.”
The former Saturday Night Live star has been recapping and live-tweeting during the last few Summer and Winter Olympic Games. Starting last Thursday, Jones, who has more than 1.1 million followers on TikTok, has posted dozens of videos commenting on everything from the figure skating competitions to the skiing events.
Leslie posted that on Monday, and then Monday evening, there were no Twitter posts about the games (although she did post on other platforms). As it turns out, after trending all day, NBC got in touch with Leslie and told her that she could keep doing the commentary and they wouldn’t try to take down her videos. NBC told the NY Times that the issue “has been resolved” and that they were not the ones taking down her videos (I guess they’re blaming the IOC, which might be correct). A spokesperson for NBC told the Times: “She’s free to do her social media posts as she has done in the past. She’s a super fan of the Olympics and we’re super fans of hers.” NBC felt the pushback and I’m glad they relented.
Leslie Jones does it stay anywhere I’m not welcomed. #uptoyallnow pic.twitter.com/jark0Joc0N
— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) February 7, 2022
Just 15 years old damn! @TeamUSA pic.twitter.com/YIhLqmRQ8x
— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) February 7, 2022
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- WEST HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – NOVEMBER 02: Comedian Leslie Jones arrives at the Los Angeles Premiere Of Apple Original Films’ ‘Finch’ held at the Pacific Design Center on November 2, 2021 in West Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 641304738, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Leslie Jones, Credit line: Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon
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- WEST HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – NOVEMBER 02: Comedian Leslie Jones arrives at the Los Angeles Premiere Of Apple Original Films’ ‘Finch’ held at the Pacific Design Center on November 2, 2021 in West Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 641304743, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Leslie Jones, Credit line: Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon
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- WEST HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – NOVEMBER 02: Comedian Leslie Jones arrives at the Los Angeles Premiere Of Apple Original Films’ ‘Finch’ held at the Pacific Design Center on November 2, 2021 in West Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 641304746, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Leslie Jones, Credit line: Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon
She is the BEST thing about the Olympics and they should absolutely PAY her to do this and not block her. I kind of think it was NBC and they blamed the IOC but who knows. I love watching her Olympic videos. She’s a treasure!
Exactly. I love her. She hypes up the Olympics better than nbc and they shouldn’t just allow her to keep doing her hype they should PAYYYY her.
Okay, I need to look up her videos because NBC’s coverage kind of sucks. Tara & Johnny seemed to have been sent a memo to tone things down. Maybe I’m misremembering. They used to seem more enthusiastic. The snowboarding commentators were good and informative. It all seems a bit flat.
Why wouldn’t they just hire her. Like give her an hr on peacock even?! They did it with snoop and Kevin hart and it was WILDLY POPULAR
I’ll take misogynoir for $2000 Alex.
Bingo!
+1
Spot on.
Ding Ding Ding!
It’s the daily double!
(Or the “Entire History of the US Double” )
Yuuup
There you go!
That struck me too. Their response was weird. Instead of being like “oh go ahead, we won’t block you” why not HIRE her to do it on their network? That is a win all around. It makes no sense why they wouldn’t.
They won’t hire her because on their streaming platform Peacock they have a show with Kevin Hart and Snoop that launched over the summer olympics that is a blatant rip off of what she’s been doing for years. They’re re funny but when I saw it I immediately thought Leslie. It’s not as good as Leslie because part of her appeal is that she is clearly a genuine Superfan of the olympics whereas they are doing a show. IMO. It was NBC because there have not been any issues prior to this. They’re deflecting in order to save face probably because the pushback was so bad.
They did hire her after her commentary became popular during the Rio games. They flew her down to Rio midway through the games. I wonder what happened with that and why they didn’t hire her for these games. Horrible that they would create a show for two men ripping off her idea.
Exactly! They hired her during Rio and should always have her doing this commentary–not taking the idea and giving it to people who aren’t real fans.
I also wonder if she’s under some sort of contract with ABC since she does her Supermarket Sweep show on there
So yeah, do you think that the poor viewership may be not only because of the time difference but because they are being held in a country that LITERALLY concentration camps? I
True. I keep forgetting they are on.
I’m “boycotting” by not watching and know other people who are too.
Moira, that’s why I’m not watching. I generally love the Olympics and want to support the athletes, but I can’t support the Chinese government or the corrupt IOC.
For me, it’s also super weird to be having ski events with nuclear power plants in the backdrop and no other snow in the vicinity.
Oh, yikes, that is weird (clearly I’m not watching).
They are cooling towers from a defunct steel mill. It’s very weird to not tear them down.
We were laughing hysterically about the power plant in the background last night. Too funny.
I don’t love the olympics, but in a different year I would watch a little here and there. I will absolutely not be watching this year. They don’t just lock up Ughyar children, they actively abuse them. I’m good.
Not only children but Many women and there’s a lot of rape of Uighur women in the camps and in their own homes. Also there are years long family separations and of course when one person dies in a camp there is no reunification at all
I think going to commercial break every 60 seconds is a huge part of the problem. It makes the Olympics unwatchable.
I am nuts about Leslie. Following her on instagram brings joy to my life.
The way we are watching the olympics this year versus other years is a lot different. We do not have cable or traditional TV. So we got the apps like hulu, etc. I think we have peacock? Last year I recorded the big blocks of tv that hd the sports I wanted to watch and never had time to watch them all. The commercials took up a lot of time too.
This year, I guess it’s peacock? My husband set it up. We are watching lots of 5-minute clips of various ice skating performances, luge runs, alpine skiing, etc But we have to pick each one. It it nice because there aren’t as many commercials and we can maximize the 1-2 hours we have to watch in the evening with our kids to focus on the sports we want to watch. But it feels disconnected from the Olympic experience overall and I never know who the announcers are and I don’t always know the rules for the sport because we haven’t been watching every competitor from beginning to end. I don’t know how other people are watching, but i just feel like I’m watching a bunch of youtube videos rather than watching the olympics like I used to.
We’re doing the same and I hate those 5 minute clips. Why can’t Peacock have “Men’s Figure Skating Short Program” as an option, and just let you watch the whole thing? Why 5 minutes at a time? This ruins that underdog moment where someone who isn’t a big name is suddenly all anyone is talking about. I’ll never see any of those other performances, and I hate it.
Of course I’ve been torn about watching at all because – China.
USA is running almost all day and then NBC at night does the packaged recaps etc.
Peacock App lets you watch whole events (not just the 5 min) so if there’s a cool crazy event I go there and watch. You can fast forward but when you stop, you might get a couple ads in a row, which isn’t bad for skipping an hour.
I was able to find some longer clips of the full of event on Peacock, but just a few — and they were buried in with the 5-minute clips and unclearly labeled. They also didn’t have any of the commentaries — which is either a good or bad thing — depending on your POV.
NBC are idiots. I wonder how much ratings have increased since she started this. She makes me excited for the Olympics and makes me want to watch more. Her commentary has become an Olympic tradition and I’m surprised the networks haven’t offered her a job!
Leslie has a contract at ABC right now so I doubt NBC would cross that line. I don’t understand why Snoop and Kevin Hart don’t repeat their popular olympics show. So far this feels like a controlled repressive Olympics. Mike Tirico got sent back to the US, anchoring it from home territory allegedly for saying something about China that they didn’t like. Saying he was “coming home for the Super Bowl” doesn’t ring true. What happened to the Dutch reporter dragged off?
NBC are idiots.” Nothing more to be said.
Remember how good the Olympics used to be when Bob Costas hosted them? And they got rid of him because he “knew too much.” I’m guessing that they lean into the “we don’t need no experts” thought process.
And they are the same ones who tanked their own ratings by replacing Tamron Hall with Megyn Kelly.
At least they are consistent.
They’ve got one talented enthusiastic person sharing their love of the Olympics and it crossed anyone’s mind to stifle her?
What, was holding the Olympics with sketchy COVID protocols after the shenanigans and disease spread of the last Games, in the midst of a deadly still raging pandemic, in a location where Olympic prep is likely causing massive environmental harm (where exactly did all that water for ice and snow making come from?) in a country that is committing egregious human rights violations from forced interment to genocide in an attempt to wipe a minority population off the face of the world wasn’t enough of a viewer turn off for you?
Exactly this, thank you for stating it so well! This is like a an Olympics in a fire trash dumpster and everyone is just carrying on as ushe while the walls are burning. Lol sob
How I love Leslie Jones! I’ve been on social media much less lately, but here I go to making sure that I’m seeing what she’s posting!
As a former super fan who watches less and less. I think the ratings are down because NBC has overpackaged and over produced the games. Their long term hold on airing it allowed them to turn the Olympic into just another NBC program. When networks were competing to air the Olympics they had to place emphasis on how best to present the sport. You would think having it on multiple platforms would make it more watchable but it actually dilutes the experience.
Agree agree agree. Don’t mind if it’s on 2 channels but the streaming services are what’s annoying. Mostly it’s the overpackaged way it’s produced. It’s just not good and loses the spirit of the sports. It’s just hollow. Idk how it could be done but I just know it could be better than this.
Feels like mistakes were made on both sides here. NBC should have hired Leslie to do this from the jump. She’s a proven commodity and no sense trying to reinvent the wheel with Snoop and Hart. Jones should have known that rebroadcasting the pictures, accounts or descriptions of the NBC coverage in her tweets (like the figure skating clips) without the proper permissions is prohibited and would draw the attention of NBC’s lawyers.
She been doing it for years and they never had a problem before or block the videos until this year. I think they only have a “problem” now because they have Kevin and Snoop. She been doing it for 7 years getting paid or doing it for free, they messed up a good thing.
I said as much about Leslie needing to be hired at the start of my statement. But it doesn’t mean NBC should not enforce their legal right to prevent Leslie (or anyone else for that matter) from rebroadcasting their feed on Twitter without permission. How do you think Leslie would react if someone recorded her standup act and posted it to Twitter without her permission?
As I said they’ve been ok with it for years if it was a problem they would have put a stop to her doing so 7 years ago, but they did not. It’s only after they made a knock off version that they have a problem with it.
Regarding Leslie Jones, let’s face it she doesn’t fit the box they want so they won’t pay her to do what she’s doing. They much rather pay other celebrities, who are a brand with better PR and agents to copy what she’s doing. If she was at least they wanted in terms of looks and skin tone, they would snatch her up in some capacity. I find it bizarre that they can’t find any role for her when they have an entire streaming channel dedicated to the Olympics.
I am a huge fan of the Summer Olympics, but Peacock made me upset this past summer. It wasn’t easy to understand the schedule. I wanted to watch the events live; you couldn’t unless you had the other NBC Sports streaming service because they did some weird you can watch later for no reasons upload of the events after the fact on Peacock. Then a lot of the time, they had “anchors” on discussing stuff when I wanted to watch the games. I miss the days when, for example, gymnastics was on at 7 or 8 pm, and you watched live. I was able to see the entire event. Not just the US athletes. The whole thing was so infuriating. Then I would see clips online and reactions but not just watch what I wanted to watch to see it for myself. Hot mess. I’m not even trying for the Winter Olympics, and I was curious to pop in and view the ice skating and watch the snowboarding with my 4 yo.
Sure, she’s funny, but she’s not why I watch the Olympics. I can’t speak for others, but this Olympics coverage is worse than ever. NBC has paid so much for the rights that they can’t afford to actually show the Games, just commercials. And now they’ve put the events in a little box at the top of the screen, while a giant Toyota ad takes up the rest. Yes, I know, streaming, other channels, blah, blah – but if you’ve taken up 4-5 hours of air time every single night on your own network, then you should be able to provide something watchable. NBC execs should be forced to experience the Olympic coverage the way the audience does – then they might get a clue.
My husband and I remarked last night that the amount of commercials is just overwhelming….it’s literally every 3-5 minutes, or at least it seems that way. It’s just been terrible coverage. I thought the summer games were well-covered (I work from home so I watch ALOT of television), but this has been horrible.
NBC has always been extremely strict about the re-airing of Olympics clips in newscasts or other broadcasts and I do think it’s because of the IOC. They have rules about what you can show, how long of a clip and when it airs. It’s been like that for years. That being said, somebody in legal should’ve consulted with their PR department before making this blunder. Like her or not, Leslie’s commentary is free positive press they just ruined.
Every Olympics I am so frustrated with NBC’s coverage. They only show ice skating and lots of talking on the main NBC channel. And then all the political, environmental, and economic issues with this Olympics just makes it not worth the effort to figure out where and how to watch the rest.
Totally with you. Their coverage sucks and it’s hard to be enthusiastic about this Olympics even if it didn’t. Also, they should pay Leslie Jones.
Leslie has been doing the Olympics commentary for years now, and every time, everyone says “NBC, just hire her!” and yet…it never happens. Considering she was on SNL for years and had an NBC relationship, you’d think they’d work with her on this.
After her live tweeting took off in 2016, NBC hired her and sent her to Rio and to Korea to Tweet and do “fan perspective” segments for the broadcast. I wonder if there are other factors like no fans in the last two games or Leslie’s tendency to swear when she gets excited (not exactly something the network wants to promote in “family hour primetime”) that kept her on the sidelines this time around.
I am in Mexico, and I saw that Donovan Carrillo got into the finals in ice skating. I eent to twitter to look for videos and could not find official vids there, only a bunch of blocked ones.
If you are going to be blocking, at least get decent coverage. I really had no idea that the winter games were on.
I tried to find any clips on the short track speed skating, because there were multiple “decisions” by the officials that allowed the Chinese to win (by disqualifying other athletes they said “interfered” with the Chinese athlete). I wanted to see what the “interference” looked like. But any clip on twitter or other media was forcibly removed. Screw this Olympics. I’ll pretend it never happened and wait for the next one.
Even we ignore all the possible -isms at play here, it’s so obvious the people running this are out of touch with how the internet works, right? It makes me laugh every time how much greedy corporations shoot themselves in the foot trying to suppress this kind of thing when it’s they could be capitalizing on the interest it generates. It tells you how much end stage capitalism is about control as much as it is any making money.
Her commentary is the only reason I get inspired to go watch NBC Olympics. NBC keeps following a tired formula where edgy is Keviin Hart and Snoop? They can’t allow a woman of color to give them free advertising, I guess. Their advertisers should get a discount.
NBC coverage is awful. Over produced, packaged, boring. Leslie jones spontaneous coverage was fantastic. I love that it’s done from her home. Makes you kinda feel like you’re in the room watching with her and having a great time. If NBC hires her – and they should – I’d love to see her continue that format.
The nuclear power plant is so dystopian. Savannah Guthrie is so cringe. Very strange games.
They really should break the hold that NBC has on the Olympics.
I’ve tried watching American coverage of the Olympics in the past (especially when the Canadian broadcaster has a boring sport on) but I just can’t stand it. It’s all presented as pre-packaged “stories” and never as what it is, a competition where people can make their own minds up over what they see. Plus do they show anything live ever? CBC hands over coverage to the Olympics virtually 24/7 for two weeks.
Besides the Americans poor coverage of the Olympics (all years Summer AND Winter), one of the only fun things is watching Leslie Jones shouting at her tv and it’s fun to watch.
Leslie Jones can do anything better than most people, certainly in the comedy category. I haven’t heard her Olympics commentary, but I love Leslie and know it must be excellent. NBC can’t handle a black woman commentating on the Olympics because it’s not in the small box of what they think black people can do? F-ck them.