Tiffany Haddish has broken her silence to carefully address her participation in a controversial comedy bit that is at the center of an ongoing lawsuit. Haddish, along with comedian Aries Spears, is accused of child abuse stemming from the “Through a Pedophile’s Eyes” skit that was filmed nearly a decade ago.
The filing accuses both comedians of grooming a sister and brother to act out sexually suggestive scenes when the children were respectively 14 and 7 years old. The suit was filed on Aug. 30 in Los Angeles. While Spears’ allegations are solely tied to his behavior on set, the “Night School” actress will have to answer for the role she played in allegedly coaching the children on set, as well as for allegedly transporting them to and from the filming locations.
“I know people have a bunch of questions. I get it. I’m right there with you. 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,” she wrote in a post shared to social on Sept. 5. Given the nature of the situation, Haddish disabled the post’s comments.
However, elsewhere, online conversations regrading her statement were had. “Girl, there’s nothing more you can explain that will excuse that you participated in a video that was disgusting and cringy. So nobody in that room thought that was a horrible idea,” wrote one person.
“Girl they saying you brought the kids there. You did more than just act in it,” commented another.
A third wrote, “Wasn’t s—t funny and idk where the misconception could even be that it was comical she could’ve kept this statement honestly.”
At least two people said Haddish was innocent until proven guilty, and made mention of the role others may have played in bringing the skit to fruition. “Who produced the skit? Are they being held accountable?” asked another person commenting on the matter.
Spears has not issued a public statement. Though he is far from unscathed in the fallout surrounding his latest controversy. On Sept. 3 he promoted a new podcast, “Sophisticated Scoundrels,” with comedian Gerard Guillory. He wrote, “Thank you to all my fans and TRUE BELIEVERS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!! COMMON SENSE AND RATIONALE IS NOT LOST ON YOU.” But, two days later, on the same day Haddish released her statement, Guillory shared the following message: The final episode of the Sophisticated Scoundrels Podcast airs today (Sept. 5).
