Tiffany Haddish Breaks Silence on Molestation Allegations
Tiffany Haddish responded to allegations of molestation, almost a week after a woman filed a lawsuit against Haddish and Aries Spears on behalf of herself and her brother. The 22-year-old woman, identified as Jane Doe, claims she and her younger brother, a minor identified as John Doe, accused the comedians of grooming them and leaving them "traumatized for life" after they appeared in videos for them. Haddish's lawyer denied the claims last week.
"I know people have a bunch of questions. I get it. I'm right there with you," Haddish wrote in a statement published on Instagram Monday. "Unfortunately, because there is an ongoing legal case, there's very little that I can say right now. But, clearly, while this sketch was intended to be comedic, it wasn't funny at all – and I deeply regret having agreed to act in it. I really look forward to being able to share a lot more about this situation as soon as I can."
In the lawsuit, Jane claims she and her brother John knew Haddish because their mother was friends with her, reports The Daily Beast. They were so close that they allegedly called her "Auntie Tiff" and Haddish referred to them as her "niece" and "nephew," according to the lawsuit. In 2013, when Jane was 14, she claims Haddish took her to a taping of a "sexually suggestive" commercial for sandwiches. Haddish claimed this would help Jane get on television and could be included in her film reel. The Girls Trip star allegedly showed Jane how to perform inappropriate sex acts and asked Jane to perform them herself. Jane was "physically, emotionally, and mentally uncomfortable" as she was being instructed, according to the lawsuit. She claims she was paid $100 and sent home.
The lawsuit also mentions a 2014 incident in which Spears allegedly molested John. Haddish told him he would film a reel for Nickelodeon at Spears' home. She allegedly told Jane they needed to work with John alone and took him to a separate room. There, Spears allegedly started "molesting" John, who was 7 years old at the time. Haddish allegedly saw the incident "and aided, abetted and watched Spears sexually molest a child," according to the lawsuit. The video was published on Funny Or Die's website, and a description of the sketch surfaced in a 2018 Bossip article.
"Funny Or Die found this video absolutely disgusting and would never produce such content," a Funny or Die representative said last week. "We were not involved with the conceptualization, development, funding, or production of this video. It was uploaded to the site as user-generated content and was removed in 2018 immediately after becoming aware of its existence."
Haddish and Spears are accused of "intentional infliction of emotional distress, gross negligence, sexual battery, sexual harassment, and sexual abuse of a minor" in the lawsuit. Haddish is also accused of "negligent supervision/failure to warn, breach of fiduciary duty, and constructive fraud." Jane and John are seeking general and special damages and statutory damages.
Haddish's attorney, Andrew Brettler, denied the allegations in a statement to TMZ. The plaintiffs' mother "has been trying to assert these bogus claims against Ms. Haddish for several years," Brettler said. "Every attorney who has initially taken on her case -- and there were several -- ultimately dropped the matter once it became clear that the claims were meritless and Ms. Haddish would not be shaken down. Now, Ms. Morris has her adult daughter representing herself in this lawsuit. The two of them will together face the consequences of pursuing this frivolous action."
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
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