Tiffany Haddish responds to the anonymous lawsuit regarding the highly controversial “Through A Pedophile’s Eyes” sketch featuring her and Aries Spears. A longtime comic, Haddish first rose to fame for her role as Nekeisha Williams on the NBC sitcom The Carmichael Show and her career soon exploded with the release of Girls Trip in 2017. However, in the past few days, Haddish has become embroiled in a serious controversy involving an old sketch.
On August 30, Haddish and Spears were sued by an anonymous, self-represented Jane Doe who alleged that her brother and her were exploited in a series of sexually charged video skits almost a decade ago when they were children. According to the complaint, the two were duped into appearing in the 2014 sketch called “Through a Pedophile’s Eyes” in which the boy, who was apparently 7-years-old at the time, was filmed in his underwear. In response to the lawsuit, Haddish's attorney, Andrew Brettler, called the claims "bogus" and "meritless."
Now, a week after it was filed, Tiffany Haddish has broken her silence regarding the pedophile sketch lawsuit. In a statement on Instagram, the comedian acknowledged that "people have a bunch of questions," but she is unable to answer them "because there is an ongoing legal case." Haddish also acknowledged that the "sketch was intended to be comedic," though "it wasn’t funny at all," and she "deeply regrets having agreed to act in it." Read her full statement in the space below:
The controversial video sketch featuring Haddish and Spears was hosted by Funny or Die until it was removed in 2018 for being “absolutely disgusting.” However, it only sparked a massive wave of criticism following the anonymous lawsuit which accused the comedians of exploitation and deception. Though Haddish clearly wants to respond to these claims specifically, she ultimately cannot, probably on the advice of her legal counsel, considering this is a developing case. The way it stands now, the dispute will likely be settled out of court between Haddish's lawyer and the anonymous plaintiff, or perhaps it could end up in front of a judge.
Haddish's response to the lawsuit comes as she continues to be in high demand as an actor. She is currently the lead star of the Apple TV+ series The Afterparty, which was renewed for a season 2, along with the animated Adult Swim series Tuca & Bertie. Haddish has also been tapped to star in Disney's Haunted Mansion reboot movie, which she is expected to promote at the upcoming D23 Expo this weekend. At this time, it remains unclear if Tiffany Haddish's career will be affected by these recent allegations.
Source: Tiffany Haddish/Instagram