Actor Tisha Campbell faced a barrage of negative comments while celebrating her son’s 15th birthday about her contribution to how the “Martin” show ended.
On Sept. 11, the “Little Shop of Horrors” actress, who shares two sons, Xen and Ezekiel “Zeke” Martin, with Duane Martin, took to Instagram to mark her son’s birthday.
Campbell posted a video of Zeke, both with his hair out and then braided days after the original date of his birthday on Sept. 8. She captioned the clip, “My baby is 15!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZEKE! Mommy loves you so much!”
While many fans joined in to celebrate Zeke (and comment on how mature he looks), one person used the occasion to criticize Campbell. In addition to birthday wishes, some commenters pointed out Zeke’s resemblance to his father, Duane Martin.
“Happy Birthday looking like your Dad,” one person commented, while another added, “Duane’s face for sure. Happy Bday young king.”
“The Hair and The Mustache!!!” someone else said.
But the celebration turned sour as one person expressed lingering resentment over the “Martin” show being taken off the air.
“Your mom falsely accused Martin Lawrence,” they wrote.
“Martin” ran for five seasons on Fox before ending in 1997, following Campbell’s sexual harassment lawsuit against Martin Lawrence.
She alleged that the Maryland native inappropriately touched her during love scenes while filming the show and repeatedly made unwanted sexual advances toward her. Campbell also claimed Lawrence was verbally abusive to her and the rest of the cast, accusing him of “repeated and escalating sexual harassment, sexual battery, verbal abuse, and related threats.”
Lawrence vehemently denied the allegations, and eventually the claim was settled out of court.
Despite the legal battle, Campbell and Lawrence reconciled with the rest of the living cast years later, reuniting in 2022 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of “Martin.”
In an interview with People that year, Campbell shared, “I wasn’t nervous about getting together with the cast, ’cause we are still friends,” referring to their bond even after 25 years and the death of cast mate Thomas Mikal Ford.
Lawrence echoed those sentiments, stating, “It is nothing but love with me and her. It’s nothing but love.”
Though their differences are resolved, the two have not worked together professionally since.
Both, however, spent the summer doing stand-up comedy. Lawrence toured with comedians like Adele Givens, B. Simone, DC Youngfly, Desi Banks, Loni Love and more on his Y’all Know What It Is! Tour. Meanwhile, Campbell performed a few dates alongside Finesse Mitchell.
