Quiz Leslie F*cking Jones Leslie Jones

Leslie F*cking Jones Quiz: 20 Questions on the Memoir

This quiz spans the entire arc of Leslie Jones's memoir, from her childhood in Fort Bragg to her breakthrough on SNL and beyond. Questions are drawn from the book's plot sequence, character motivations, themes and symbols, and synthesis across chapters. After you finish, check the answer key for brief explanations.

Looking for a full overview? Visit the Leslie F*cking Jones book page or explore questions and answers and the ending explained.

Quiz

Part 1: Plot & Sequence (8 questions)

  1. What event in 2009 unlocked deeper material for Leslie's comedy?

    • A) Her mother's stroke
    • B) Her brother's death
    • C) Her father's death
    • D) Her SNL audition

  2. In Chapter One, what nickname did a friend's mother give Leslie?

    • (Short answer)

  3. Coach Van Girard gave Leslie what nickname?

    • A) Jump Stupid
    • B) Chocolate Thunder
    • C) The Undeniable
    • D) Queen Isabella

  4. After winning the Funniest Person on Campus contest, what happened to Leslie's basketball scholarship?

    • A) It was increased
    • B) It was revoked by Coach Berger
    • C) It was transferred to Colorado State
    • D) She quit basketball voluntarily

  5. What key piece of advice did Jamie Foxx give Leslie after she bombed at his club?

    • (Short answer)

  6. In Chapter Five, what job did Leslie take that led her to coach a team of “leftover” kids to a championship?

    • A) Court runner for a law firm
    • B) YWCA basketball coach
    • C) Justice of the peace
    • D) Caterer at Hollywood events

  7. How did Leslie first learn that Lorne Michaels wanted to hire her?

    • (Short answer)

  8. What reasons led Leslie to temporarily leave Twitter?

    • A) Racist backlash to Ghostbusters only
    • B) Catfishing and nude leak only
    • C) Both racist backlash and catfishing/hacking
    • D) A dispute with a producer

Part 2: Character Motivation (5 questions)

  1. Why did Leslie's mother arrange for an African woman to speak with young Leslie after the “Blacky” incident?

    • (Short answer)

  2. Why did Leslie quit comedy for six years following Jamie Foxx's advice?

    • A) She was too traumatized by bombing to continue
    • B) She wanted to gain real life experience to enrich her material
    • C) Her father forbade her from performing
    • D) She could only find work as a basketball coach

  3. What motivated Leslie to finally pursue comedy full-time after coaching the YWCA team?

    • (Short answer)

  4. Why did Leslie skip SNL rehearsals in the fall of 2014?

    • A) She was ill with a chronic condition
    • B) She wanted the show to feel her absence and pressure them to make her a cast member
    • C) She was filming Ghostbusters during the week
    • D) She was angry at the writers for stereotyping her

  5. After her private photos leaked online, why did Leslie fire her lawyer?

    • A) The lawyer was not experienced in media cases
    • B) The lawyer advised her to play the victim, but Leslie wanted to reclaim power
    • C) The lawyer charged too much
    • D) The lawyer said to ignore the leak

Part 3: Theme & Symbol (4 questions)

  1. What does the “quantum leap” idea represent for Leslie in the memoir?

    • A) A sudden jump to fame
    • B) A wish to travel back in time and comfort her younger self
    • C) A scientific concept she studied in college
    • D) Escaping her difficult childhood by moving away

  2. What does the “slave joke” that Leslie wrote in 1997 come to symbolize in her career?

    • (Short answer)

  3. The “angels” Leslie meets on her cross-country drive (the Kansas sheriff, the silver-car woman) symbolize:

    • A) Her deceased family members watching over her
    • B) Random acts of kindness and support from strangers
    • C) Divine intervention from God
    • D) Hallucinations caused by exhaustion

  4. In the memoir, Leslie's father's advice to be “undeniable” means:

    • A) To be unbeatable in every basketball game
    • B) To make herself impossible to be ignored or dismissed as a Black woman
    • C) To never experience failure
    • D) To always be the loudest person in the room

Part 4: Synthesis (3 questions)

  1. How did the grief from her brother's death and her parents' deaths affect Leslie's approach to her career, especially her SNL pursuit?

    • (Short answer)

  2. Compare the advice Leslie received from Jamie Foxx (“live life”) and from Chris Rock (“you’re not ready”). How did both shape her eventual success?

    • (Short answer)

  3. In what way does the memoir challenge Hollywood's idea of “making it”?

    • A) It shows that following every rule guarantees success
    • B) It argues that authenticity and persistence matter more than conforming to expectations
    • C) It claims that only young performers can succeed
    • D) It suggests that talent alone is enough

Answer Key

Part 1: Plot & Sequence

  1. B) Her brother's death. The prologue states that Keith's death in 2009 unlocked deeper material, including a slave joke that earned Chris Rock's endorsement.
  2. Blacky. A friend's mother used the nickname; Leslie did not initially realize it was offensive. (Chapter One)
  3. B) Chocolate Thunder. Coach Girard called her that during basketball practice in Chapter Two.
  4. B) It was revoked by Coach Berger. After winning the campus comedy contest, Berger told Leslie her scholarship was gone. (Chapter Four)
  5. Live life / Get real life experience before writing material. Foxx told her she had no life experience and needed to live before she could write authentic comedy. (Chapter Four)
  6. B) YWCA basketball coach. She walked into a YWCA, was given a team of overlooked kids, and led them to a championship. (Chapter Five)
  7. Lorne Michaels called her after her SNL audition to offer a writing job. She was in the parking lot of Fancy Nails when she took the call. (Chapter Ten)
  8. C) Both racist backlash and catfishing/hacking. The Ghostbusters online abuse and the catfishing plot (including nude leaks) drove her off the platform. (Chapter Eleven)

Part 2: Character Motivation

  1. To help Leslie feel beautiful and proud of her Blackness. The African woman told young Leslie she would be more beautiful than her, changing her self-perception. (Chapter One)
  2. B) She wanted to gain real life experience to enrich her material. She took Foxx's advice and worked a series of odd jobs for six years. (Chapter Four)
  3. She was inspired by coaching the kids and realized she had to pursue comedy full-time. The experience gave her purpose and confidence. (Chapter Five)
  4. B) She wanted the show to feel her absence and pressure them to make her a cast member. She believed she was undeniable and that SNL needed her energy. (Chapter Ten)
  5. B) The lawyer advised her to play the victim, but Leslie wanted to reclaim power. She joked about the leak on SNL Update and at the Emmys instead. (Chapter Eleven)

Part 3: Theme & Symbol

  1. B) A wish to travel back in time and comfort her younger self. Opening Chapter One, Leslie says she wants to quantum leap and tell her younger self she will be okay.
  2. A turning point that demonstrates how pain and history can fuel comedy, and the joke that helped her win Chris Rock's support. It later became her breakthrough Weekend Update bit. (Prologue, Chapter Ten)
  3. B) Random acts of kindness and support from strangers. Leslie calls these encounters “angels” that guided her east. (Chapter Seven)
  4. B) To make herself impossible to be ignored or dismissed as a Black woman. Her father taught her to work harder and be undeniable in a world that often overlooks Black women. (Chapter One, Epilogue)

Part 4: Synthesis

  1. Grief gave her the courage to speak her truth without fear of consequences. After losing her brother, she felt she had nothing left to lose; this fearlessness helped her speak honestly to Lorne Michaels and push for a cast member role. (Prologue, Chapter Ten)
  2. Both pieces of advice forced Leslie to step back, gain life experience, and grow as a person and comic. Foxx's advice led to a six-year pause that enriched her material; Rock's initial rejection pushed her to work harder until she was undeniably ready. Together, they shaped her authenticity. (Prologue, Chapter Four)
  3. B) It argues that authenticity and persistence matter more than conforming to expectations. Leslie repeatedly refused to change her style or material, and she succeeded only when she stayed true to herself, not by following Hollywood's standard path. (Chapter Thirteen)

★ Did you get all twenty? Compare your answers above. For deeper discussion of the book's themes and characters, check the Q&A page and the ending explained.