Leslie Jones, the standup comedian who has been writing for Saturday Night Live since January, has been named a castmember of Saturday Night Live.

Leslie Jones Joins 'SNL' Cast

Last year, when Saturday Night Live was scrambling to find an African-American woman to join the cast, Jones was a finalist, losing the spot to Sasheer Zamata, reported Deadline. She ended up in SNL’s writer’s room, but has occasionally made appearances on the show, namely during Weekend Update as the resident Dating Expert.

Jones caused a bit of a stir during her first Weekend Update appearance in which she decried the injustices about what kind of women men want. While she said she wasn’t the first pick in the dating pool, with her broad shoulders and strong arms she would have been “the No. 1 slave draft pick.” Jones’ skit, while receiving some backlash, did give SNL some media attention and Jones stuck by it. “I’m a comic it is my job to take things and make them funny to make you think," she had tweeted.

On the Bill Hader-hosted episode of Saturday Night Live, Jones made her sketch debut in the lauded satirical commercial about poverty porn. Hader, as Charles Daniels, asks viewers to give just 39 cents a day while some of the native Africans – of which Jones was one – urge him to ask for more. “If you want to see this cheap ass white man again, you better send us $200 cash right now,” Jones says at the end. “Don’t hesitate!”

Jones will make her debut as a featured castmember on this coming Saturday’s episode, which will feature Jim Carey as the host.

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Article by Chelsea Regan

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