By Derrik J. Lang, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --Leslie Jones ain't afraid of no ghost — or playing a transit worker.
The co-star of the upcoming all-female version of "Ghostbusters" took to Twitter to defend her role as a member of the paranormal-fighting group who appears in footage released Thursday to be an employee of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The portrayal of the team's only non-white member as a subway worker in filmmaker Paul Feig's new "Ghostbusters" came under fire on social media after the trailer debuted online.
"Why can't a regular person be a Ghostbuster?" the African-American actress-comedienne posted on Twitter. "I'm confused. And why can't I be the one who plays them? I am a performer. Just go see the movie!"
Jones' character Patty teams up to fight ghosts and other apparitions in the film with Kristen Wiig's particle physicist Erin, Melissa McCarthy's paranormal researcher Abby and Kate McKinnon's nuclear engineer Jillian.
In one scene, Jones' character tells them, "You guys are really smart about this science stuff, but I know New York — and I can borrow a car from my uncle."
A poster for the character released earlier this year referred to Patty as a "ghost tracker, municipal historian, metaphysical commando."
"I understand this is a reboot of 'Ghostbusters' from 1984 and the new characters mirror their male counterparts," wrote Donna Dickens on the pop culture site HitFix.com on Friday. "But it's been over 30 years and the dynamic of three white scientists and 'street-wise' minority is dated."
Jones, who serves as a "Saturday Night Live" cast member and appeared in the film "Top Five," made it clear she was not personally offended by the part, adding on Twitter: "IT'S NOT A MAN, WOMAN, RACE, CLASS THANG!! IT'S A GHOSTBUSTER THANG!!"
A spokeswoman for "Ghostbusters" writer-director Feig did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
In the original "Ghostbusters" films, Ernie Hudson portrayed the team's only non-white member, Winston. He joined the group by responding to a help wanted ad and did not have any prior experience with paranormal activity.
The new "Ghostbusters" installment is scheduled for release July 15.
Top Olympic sponsor Panasonic is ending its contract with the IOC
TOKYO (AP)--Olympic sponsor Panasonic is terminating its contract with the IOC at the end of the year, the company said in a statement Tuesday. Panasonic is one of 15 companies that are so-called TOP sponsors for the International Olympic Committee. It's not known the value of the Panasonic sponsorship, but sponsors contribute more than $2 billion in a four-year cycle to the IOC. In a statement, Panasonic said it became an IOC sponsor in 1987 and expanded to the Paralympics in 2014. It did not make clear why it was changing course and said only that is was related to continual "reviews how sponsorship should evolve." Two other Japanese companies are also among the IOC's 15 leading sponsors. Toyota, which for several months has been reportedly ready to end its contract, was contacted Tuesday by The Associated Press but offered no new information. "Toyota has been supporting the Olympic and Paralympic movements since 2015 and continues to do so," Toyota said in a statement. "No announcement to suggest otherwise has been made by Toyota." Japanese sponsors seem to have turned away from the Olympics, likely related to the one-year delay in holding the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The COVID-19 delay reduced sponsors' visibility with no fans allowed to attend competition venues, ran up the costs, and unearthed myriad corruption scandals around the Games. Tiremaker Bridgestone told AP "nothing has been decided." Toyota had a contact valued at $835 million — reported to be the IOC's largest when it was announced in 2015. It included four Olympics beginning with the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Games in South Korea and ran through the just-completed Paris Olympics and Paralympics. Reports in Japan suggest Toyota may keep its Paralympic Olympic sponsorship. The... Read More