Name an A-list celebrity, and Tiffany Haddish probably has a story about them. The 38-year-old actor, famous for her breakout turn as Dina in last year’s Girls Trip, has made a hilarious habit of sharing her experiences with some of Hollywood’s biggest celebrities. From a dinner party with Taylor Swift (who made cornbread and barbecue chicken; Haddish brought her famous “joyful” collard greens) to flirting with Brad Pitt in a crowded elevator, Haddish has done it all. Why not treat yourself to some of her best, most unbelievable stories all in one place?
Her Infamous Groupon Swamp Tour with Will and Jada Pinkett Smith
Haddish’s story of her Groupon swamp tour with the Smiths went viral after she recounted it on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last summer, heralding her as a storyteller for the ages. Haddish revealed she’d had dinner with Will and Jada one night while shooting Girls Trip in New Orleans and mentioned a Groupon she’d bought for a swamp tour; Jada expressed interest in going, but Haddish didn’t think she actually meant it. The next day, after smoking a copious amount of weed (“I thought it would be super cool to be on the swamp, and be high, and like, the alligators would be talking to me”), Haddish got a phone call from Jada saying she and Will were coming along after all.
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Haddish tells the rest of the screwball adventure with her trademark irreverence, revealing tidbits like the fact that Jada didn’t even know what a Groupon was.
Propositioning “Coochie Squad” King Leonardo DiCaprio
Time will tell if Haddish was actually able to swing this, but in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Haddish recalls striking up a conversation with Leonardo DiCaprio at a party and casually asking him if “he’d let me hit that.” DiCaprio wanted to discuss Haddish’s comedy but, undeterred, she pressed on, citing his involvement in the infamous pussy posse (which she rebranded the “coochie squad”) as reason enough for them to get it on. “I told him, ‘My only stipulation: I wanna do it with you as your character in What's Eating Gilbert Grape,’” Haddish explained. “He starts goin’ into how he got into the role, how he worked with these kids and all this stuff, and I’m just listenin’ and listenin’, like, ‘Mmm-hmm, mmm-hmm.; I finally go, ‘All that’s good, I just need to know, When’s this gonna happen?’”
Waving ‘Hi’ at a Scowling, Racist Roseanne in 2001
In the same interview, Haddish tells the story of how she and her friend ran into Roseanne Barr several times in the early 2000s, when Haddish would take walks with her friend through Barr’s neighborhood. According to her, Roseanne made disgusted faces whenever she said hello to her, but when her friend, who passed for white, called out a greeting, Barr was friendly and engaged in conversation.“That was 2000, maybe 2001, so it's not new,” Haddish said. “She been racist, why'd you all give her a TV show?”
She Introduced Barbra Streisand to Cardi B’s Music
Haddish and Barbra Streisand met at a dinner party, hit it off, and took a selfie that went viral last year. As she later recounted on The Ellen Show, Haddish and Babs bonded over the fact that they’re both from the hood (“We’re both ghetto chicks, except… she lived in a Jewish hood, and I lived in a black neighborhood”), with the encounter culminating in Haddish’s rendition of “Bodak Yellow” for Streisand. Babs found Cardi B’s hit quite “catchy,” said Haddish.
Her “Deadly” Dance Moves
Before she made it big as an actor, Haddish worked for several years as an “energy producer” for bar and bat mitzvahs—basically the person responsible for getting the party going. While working one such event, things took a tragic turn, Haddish revealed to Jimmy Fallon. She was dancing with an “older gentleman,” probably in his 80s, when she decided to give him some “booty action.” Unfortunately, Haddish’s dance moves turned out to be killer, and the old man collapsed (he was taken to the hospital and later died). Though Haddish was discouraged by this incident—“I didn’t want to dance no more, I felt like this ass is deadly,” she lamented—she later got a kind note from the man’s family thanking her for putting a smile on his face.
Beyoncé Bitegate
Ah yes, the face bite that launched a thousand beefs. Perhaps Haddish’s most controversial tale is her retelling of the incident involving Beyoncé and a previously unnamed actress, one with the audacity to bite the superstar on the face. (She later ID'ed the culprit as Sanaa Lathaan.) Haddish was ready to “beat somebody ass” on Beyoncé’s behalf, she said, but Bey encouraged Haddish to forget about the incident and “have fun” at the party instead. (A much-scrutinized selfie of the two of them later emerged.) While it seems like the drama may finally be coming to a close, we’ve got to thank Haddish (and her heroic inability to stay mum) to thank for one of the greatest pop culture conspiracies in recent months.
