Former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Leslie Jones blasted traditional marriage during an interview Tuesday, calling it “legalized slavery.”
Jones spoke with podcaster Ziwerekoru “Ziwe” Fumudoh — known for candid interviews with sometimes absurd or hyperbolic questions — about a variety of topics involving modern men and romance.
Shortly after Jones said she is attracted to powerful men, Ziwe appeared to jokingly ask if she would ever wish to be a “tradwife,” a term for housewives who believe in traditional gender roles, the importance of homemaking and a patriarchal marriage. Ziwe described such women as “submissive” and “making Oreos from scratch.”
“Absolutely f—ing not,” Jones said, clarifying that her father raised her not only to not be a tradwife but to not be anybody’s wife. “My dad used to literally say that to me, ‘I didn’t raise you to be somebody’s wife.’
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“Most of the people that I know that’s gotten married are divorced now,” Jones added.
When Ziwe suggested that was an indictment of the institution of marriage itself, Jones replied, “Yeah. I think marriage is legalized slavery.”
Ziwe, appearing to be somewhat taken aback, encouraged her to elaborate “because if I’m thinking about slavery, and I’m thinking about marriage, there are two different images that come to mind.”
“Absolutely not. I don’t think I — I don’t know how you don’t,” Jones argued. “Especially if he expecting you to be a tradwife. He might as well pull out a whip and a chain.”
“Wow,” Ziwe replied, before pivoting by asking what she would advise to young people considering marriage.
“Don’t,” Jones said. “I don’t think it’s beneficial for a woman at all.”
She explained she does not hate men per se, but she is disappointed at them as a group.
“Because they’re not stepping up to the plate. While we sat and grew and got our s— together, they sat on the couch and played their Sega Genesis,” Jones said, referring to a video game console released in the late 1980s.
“They didn’t try to grow. They didn’t try to grow. They didn’t try to better themselves. They, you know — we invented Oprah so we can get better,” she added.
Ziwe recalled to Jones an incident when they sat courtside at an NBA game, and Jones had been given a disciplinary card for her conduct as an attendee.
“I did see you bark at a young man with an afro,” Ziwe recalled.
“He was hot,” Jones replied. “And you knew that that was well in my right to do that.”
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“It’s interesting as you talk about how men should do better and get better. You’re barking at a, you know, young 24-year-old doing their job,” Ziwe said.
Jones said she has no apologies for such behavior.
“I’m 58, and I should be able to do what I want,” she said.
