“Girls Trip” producer Will Packer said that he could not make a sequel to the film without his original cast, including actress and comedienne Tiffany Haddish. During a recent appearance on “Club Shay Shay,” Packer praised Haddish, while briefly touching on her past legal troubles.
Haddish found herself in hot water last year after she and comedian Aries Spears were accused of grooming two children in a comedy skit about a pedophile. The video of the skit was posted on the website Funny or Die in 2014, and showed Spears excitedly rubbing oil on a 7-year-old boy who was playing Haddish’s son. Haddish was accused of having a 14-year-old girl moan as she ate a sandwich and pretended she was performing fellatio for the skit.
After host Shannon Sharpe mentioned that Packer was making a “Girls Trip” sequel, he asked Packer if the film would be made with the original cast, including Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah and Regina King.
“I gotta have the (original) cast. I gotta take them,” replied Packer. “‘Cause people love those ladies. They love those characters.”
He went on to praise Haddish’s acting after Sharpe noted he didn’t know who she was before “Girls Trip,” adding that she “stole the show.”
“She was a breakout,” he replied. “Everybody else that came in and auditioned for that role, they were playing the character they read on the page. But Tiffany became the character. She took what was on the page and took it to the next level.”
Packer compared Haddish’s breakout role in “Girls Trip” to Kevin Hart‘s breakout movie role in another Packer film, “Think Like A Man,” from 2012.
Sharpe then asked the “Obsession” producer if he could convince studios that he needed the original cast to include Haddish in order to make the sequel.
“I certainly hope so. I think that we are in a time period where there’s not a lot of nuances. It’s just black and white, and the reality is that we live in a gray world,” Packer said. “I think that, you know, she’s very talented obviously, very remorseful and has come out and apologized, so I certainly hope so.” He added, ‘Girls Trip Two,’ I can’t make it without her.”
The 48-year-old added that it was important not to confuse the artist with the art.
“I always tell people that it becomes a tricky conversation when you align the art with the artist so much that you don’t have a separation of art and artist,” he said. “And that doesn’t mean that you justify bad behavior. It just means that sometimes … in general, you have to look at the art, and you have to judge the art.”
He added, “When you talk about the art, ‘Girls Trip Two’ I would definitely want those four ladies.”
It’s still unclear when production will begin on the sequel, but Hall confirmed in August 2022 that she was excited to make the sequel. “It’s going to be really, really nice. I’ve seen the girls, but to work again,” she said. “It’ll be great to have everyone back together all at once.”
