Paul Feig defends his Ghostbusters: "Grow up and leave my cast alone"

As Saturday Night Live actress Leslie Jones considered quitting Twitter on Tuesday following backlash for her character in the upcoming Ghostbusters film, director Feig stepped in to show his support... and put his foot down.

"Don’t leave us, @Lesdoggg," he tweeted. "You are a goddess & one of the warmest funniest forces of nature I know. F*** the haters."

The director sent out a follow-up tweet to Jones' critics, saying, “Attack me all you want but when you attack and insult my cast, you’ve crossed the line. Grow up and leave my cast alone.”

The trailer for the Ghostbusters reboot dropped last week, showing Jones playing Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) worker Patty, who joins three scientists played by Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy and Kate McKinnon to save New York City from an onslaught of ghosts.

The film faced criticism because Jones's character, the only black female lead, was also the only non-scientist among the four female Ghostbusters – backlash which led the actress and comedian to respond on Twitter:

Why can't a regular person be a ghostbuster. Im confused. And why can't i be the one who plays them i am a performer. Just go see the movie!

— Leslie Jones (@Lesdoggg) March 4, 2016

Ghostbusters opens in cinemas on 15th July