


Leslie Jones is ready.
The comedian revealed to People that she wants to be considered as the new host of “The Daily Show.”
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“It definitely should be a black woman,” the 55-year-old said.
“It would be great to have a black woman on late night. It’s time. I think people are ready for that. Now, I’m not s–tting on white women or whatever. I’m just saying.”
Following Trevor Noah’s departure from “The Daily Show” in December, Jones was the first guest host to warm up the late-night show mic, with three episodes in January.
Many viewers thought Jones was a perfect fit for the show after her late-night debut, sharing her thoughts on an accidental NSFW MLK Jr. statue.
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“In time we will see this statue for what it truly is: Martin Luther King going down on his wife. I can’t unsee it!” she quipped on the program.
She recalled the experience as “one of those in-the-pocket fits.”
“You know how when you get fitted for a suit and you’re like, ‘Yeah, this suit looks nice on me. Yo, I don’t mind wearing this style on me.’ The Daily Show was [that],” she told People.
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The “Saturday Night Live” alum thought highly of the late-night show’s team, describing her time as “not chaotic” and “not stressful.”
“Everybody there was good at their job and everybody there was staying in their lane and did their job,” she revealed. “Even when we were editing jokes and bits and stuff, they were so respectful, and then they were very good at what they did.”
Jones felt an instant connection with the staff feeling like she was “talking to old friends.”
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“There were lines that I was like, ‘OK, how am I trying to say this?’ And I’m telling you, them writers would say it, and I’d be like, ‘God damn. Are you in my head?’ They were good.”
The “Ghostbusters” actor “definitely” felt a new sense of comfort working with “The Daily Show” team especially when she discovered Jen Flanz was the showrunner.
“I remember telling Lenny [Jone’s writer], ‘Holy s–t, if Jen Flanz was the showrunner for anything I was on, we would probably still have that show. To me, she was the epitome of someone who can do their job without being an a–hole. And that’s real talk.”
The comedian hopes her time at the desk proved she deserves a seat on the legendary talk show, which was hosted by Craig Kilborn from 1996 to 1998, Jon Stewart from 1999 to 2015 and Trevor Noah from 2015 to 2022.
Before hosting “The Daily Show,” Jones sought advice from comedian Chris Rock on making an impression with hopes for a return.
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“He told me not to be Trevor [Noah] and not to be Jon Stewart, just be myself. I’m Leslie Jones, so it’s gonna be totally different, at least for me. Just like anything else that’s brought to me, it’s an opportunity to come and do something that I haven’t done before,” she told The Post earlier this year.
Aside from waiting on a call to become the new Queen of late-night talk shows, the comedian remains busy with the “Leslie Jones: Live” comedy show tour and debuting her memoir, “Leslie F*cking Jones” this September.