Tiffany Haddish has released a statement following damning accusations that she and fellow comedian Aries Spears groomed two siblings to perform sexually suggestive acts on camera when the alleged victims were underage.
Haddish admitted Monday that an inappropriate sketch, described in a lawsuit as pedophile-themed, happened and that she regrets taking part.
“I know people have a bunch of questions. I’m right there with you,” Haddish said in a statement posted to her Instagram Monday. “Unfortunately, because there is an ongoing legal case, there’s very little I can say right now.”
ADVERTISEMENT
“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,” she added. “I really look forward to being able to share a lot more about this situation as soon as I can.”
The Daily Beast exclusively reported last week that plaintiffs Jane and John Doe—using pseudonyms—filed a lawsuit on Aug. 29 against Haddish and Spears, claiming that the entertainers coerced them into performing sexually suggestive acts on camera in 2013 when they were 14 and 7 years old.
The lawsuit alleges Haddish recruited John for a video skit titled “Through a Pedophile’s Eyes.” In the video, 7-year-old John played a child clothed in his underwear and left alone with Spears, who played a pedophile. Spears allegedly massaged baby oil on the child’s back and shoulders in the video, the boy played with a toy train in a manner that suggests masturbation, and Spears watched the boy in a bathtub. Haddish played the boy’s guardian. Throughout the clip, the cinematography focused on John’s butt and crotch.
According to the lawsuit, John “called his mother crying, saying he did not want to film anymore” after the experience.
About a year earlier, the lawsuit alleges, Haddish recruited Jane for a commercial while attending a comedy camp. Initially, Haddish and Spears had Jane watch a commercial that involved a group of men and women discussing how to eat a subway sandwich “in a manner that simulated the act of fellatio.” Spears instructed Jane to mimic the people in the commercial, the lawsuit stated, and Haddish allegedly showed the 14-year-old what to do.
“I knew a hundred percent what they wanted out of me,” Jane previously told The Daily Beast. “I tried to mimic what they wanted me to mimic, but it still came out just super uncomfortable.”
The lawsuit claimed that Haddish paid Jane $100 before she sent her home.
The siblings said they were introduced to “Auntie Tiff” through their mother, who met the entertainer in the comedy scene. The mother told The Daily Beast that they bonded over their pending divorces.
Now at the ages of 22 and 14, the plaintiffs say the traumatic experiences still carry on in their lives.
On Thursday, Haddish’s attorney Andrew Brettler called the lawsuit a “shakedown” that the plaintiffs’ mother, Trizah Morris, had been pressing for years.
“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,” he said, according to TMZ. “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.”
