‘Roast My Rental’: Leslie Jones on New HGTV Show & Comedically Cringe Properties

If there is one thing to know about Leslie Jones, it’s that she isn’t afraid to speak her mind. The comedian and actress takes the telling it like it is approach to HGTV’s newest series Roast My Rental, Premiering July 24, the design enthusiast ventures across the country where she’ll step foot in some of the worst short-term rentals. 

These properties received attention for all the wrong reasons through viral photos of amenities gone wrong, misleading listings, and less than flattering reviews. As one would expect, this has hurt business. Beyond the no-nonsense reality check, the star also brings aboard renovation expert Jasmine Roth (Help! I Wrecked My House) to help transform these troublesome spaces in 72 hours into welcoming vacation destinations for future guests to enjoy. 

Here Jones previews the most disgusting, a little dangerous, and overall outrageous. 

Jasmine Roth and Leslie Jones (HGTV)

What is it like to be on HGTV and part of this universe? 

Leslie Jones: It’s great. It’s a channel I watch all the time. I watch all the shows there. So, to get to do something on your favorite channel and meet one of your favorite designers has been really great. 

Are you known to go to a friend’s or family member’s house and roast it? 

Absolutely. All the time I’m roasting people’s places all the time. I’m telling them to change the sheets. Why do you have these towels? I remember going to one of my best friend’s houses. She had just bought a condo. We were all happy for her. We were like, “Yes, you got your own place. You don’t have to pay rent any more.’ Then when I came in there I was like, “You’re not going to keep this floor. Oh, you like this floor. I’m sorry.” Then I’d go, “What about these doors? Oh, you want the original wood. Um.” She was like, “I don’t like anything. I want all of this to be torn up. I want this whole living room to go.” 

Here you’re giving tough love where the owners took it in stride. How was it finding the balance between having fun with them and also helping them? 

Exactly, these are people. You’re not talking to mannequins, even though one of the houses had a mannequin in it…with sweat marks….and missing fingers. We don’t know the mannequin story. But when you’re talking to people, and I’m a comedian, I can speak for myself, but you can feel their vibe. If someone is nervous, you can feel if someone is going to get upset. We had a person that was on here, and I could immediately front the first roast. You can see it in their face and posture, you know how someone is going to take something. I care about people. Some comedians might be like this is what we want. But I want to roast people where they take the roast I do to them and tell it to other people. 

Like a badge of honor. 

Yes. You know how you go to a comedy club like if I see you I’d be like,, “That shirt dude. Where did you get that shirt from…The Gap? Did The Gap run out of nicer shirts?” You are going to tell your friends, “Oh my God, Leslie Jones told me my shirt sucks.” And…and it carries on the joy. Like you’re happy. You’re giggling, and you can’t wait to tell your friends something someone observed about you that they are going to be familiar with and now both of y’all laughing and another friend comes. It’s a joy to spread. It’s like a virus. 

Only in a good way. 

Yeah, in a good way! 

How was it working with Jasmine? It seems like you get your hands dirty maybe a little bit. 

Oh no! It’s like I tell her on the show [these hands] are jewels, not tools. I don’t work with my hands. I work with jokes, thanks. She is so sweet. Like you know how you watch a show and go, “That person can’t be that cute and sweet.” She is exactly how you see. She is so nice and very talented. Like she sees spaces where I may go, “There is no way you’re going to fix this.” She will go, “No, you can take this and move this.” She is more looking in the space and not what is inside the space. I love her. It’s great. We have great chemistry. 

Host Leslie Jones, as seen on Roast My Rentals, Season 1. (HGTV)

There are some crazy things you run into this season including in the teaser where one looks like a spaceship? 

Spaceship, have one with Joshua Tree inside. We had what I call shacks. We had surfer shacks…no doors. We had backhouses that looked like crack houses. We’ve had some crazy stuff. 

You mentioned this reminds you of your going to these places. What is one you remember that would appear on this show? 

I remember this motel in Seattle. The motel was a motel, but had 265 cable channels. That’s what made people rent the room out. But the room looked like somebody died there. 

How is it being on the road now? Comedy is in a challenging place now where the line is maybe finer as far as people being offended by a joke. 

I do think that comedy is in a different place. I don’t think people would get offended by things that are actually funny. I think that it’s not people getting offended as much as the material that is being told. I feel like if you are not well learned in a field that you have to speak to masses of people and you’re not trained how to gauge where you are, then it’s not the people being offended. It’s the material being performed. I say stuff all the time that you would get offended if you don’t know how to deliver it correctly. When you’re seeing mean stuff and you’re seeing people get offended, that’s because what was said was given with that passion.

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I’ll give you a great example. Texting, no matter if that person said they are mad or not, you feel the tone of the text. Like let’s say you say something and they are like laugh out loud or Yes. But if they are instead of “Yes Lough Out Loud” they are like “Lough Out Loud” period, then it’s hmm. That might mean something. So when you’re on stage and say something the energy of the word you put behind it is what people receive .. .not necessarily the word. In the state you’re saying it’s offensive, I say the trained comedians know how to perform for people. And I’m a trained comedian. People are going to enjoy me because I’m doing what my job actually is, and that’s doing standup and making people laugh. Like I’m not trying to rebuild the wheel. I’m doing standup. I’m doing comedy because that’s what my job is. My job is not to change your weight. Hopefully I say stuff that makes you feel great and makes you feel better about yourself, but my job is not to change you. That’s your job. My job is to make you laugh because my laugh is 

Roast My Rental series premiere, July 24, 10/9c, HGTV