Raunchy comedy certainly isn’t for everybody, and things can become particularly cringe-heavy if audiences find themselves subjected to sexually explicit humor in the presence of their parents or children. At least one person in attendance at former Saturday Night Live star Leslie Jones’ set at George Washington University had some strong thoughts in that vein about the entertainment on display during Alumni and Families Weekend. Jones' act got slammed by one visiting mother in attendance, as the comedian began singling out members of the audience with some personal zingers during the show, and eventually called the complaintant a MILF in front of her 18-year-old son.
Leslie Jones headlined George Washington University’s annual Fall Comedy Show, bringing her characteristic spicy humor, which even included commentary on “the softness of dick skin,” according to a review in the student newspaper, The GW Hatchet. She also reportedly told a group of coeds to “start sucking some dick” after they said they didn’t have boyfriends. Which brings us to the aforementioned attendee was said to look “visibly upset” over being called a MILF during the act, as well as when Jones implied the son's friends were attracted to her. The woman took the comedian to task via the school’s Parents Underground Group on Facebook, allegedly saying:
I was really upset that GW put us in this situation. We were expecting the content to be something we could enjoy. It was awful. 45 minutes of graphic and raunchy sexual content sitting next to my 18-year-old son. I wanted to leave but we were in the front row and the only exit path would have required us to walk right past her.
It might seem easy to suggest that if the family wasn’t comfortable with the brand of comedy that Leslie Jones was dishing out, they could have just left the show. While it is true they could have done just that, I can also see how they would want to avoid drawing any further attention to themselves. Honestly, I’d give it around a 0.00001% chance that they’d have made it out without the Supermarket Sweep reboot host putting them on the spot in some way that would have also angered the mother.
The review noted that other Saturday Night Live cast members have performed at the annual event, including Michael Che and Mikey Day, and while it’s unclear what kind of tone the private Washington, D.C., university typically sees from the comedians it brings in, college comedy shows in general can get pretty raunchy, and often without much blowback.
Leslie Jones herself reportedly pointed out that her material was inappropriate for another family, who were sitting in the front row with their children, one of whom had yet to reach teen-dom. The Coming 2 America actress apparently roasted them, saying:
He’s 12! When your kid grows up, and he’s fucked up, he can blame it on you for bringing him to Leslie Jones.
Other attendees who were interviewed following the show weren’t as bothered as the woman who griped on Facebook, with one father saying that was on par with the kind of comedy Leslie Jones is known for. His wife said she was “surprised” by the content, but neither of the parents seemed upset by it, the student newspaper reported.
Comedians do take a risk when making members of the audience the subjects of their jokes. There’s no bigger example of how that can backfire than Chris Rock getting slapped by Will Smith at this year’s Academy Awards. However, the Ghostbusters actress was delivering the caliber of humor that she’s known for, and it seems in this situation, the mother in the audience was merely caught off guard in an embarrassing situation next to her son, whose opinion wasn't reported on.
While Leslie Jones is no longer part of the longtime NBC sketch comedy show, see all of SNL’s confirmed guest hosts for Season 48, and check out our 2022 TV schedule to see what else is coming up soon.
