“All my gigs, gone. Everything, gone,” Haddish told TMZ. “I don’t have no job, bro.” Comedians Haddish and Aries Spears were at the center of a child sexual abuse lawsuit filed August 30 by two anonymous plaintiffs. The brother and sister duo claimed Haddish and Spears were asked to perform lewd acts while underage as part of a sketch uploaded to Funny or Die; John Doe was seven years old and Jane Doe was 14 at the time of the alleged abuse. The lawsuit against Spears and Haddish was dropped September 20, with Jane Doe filing a notice of dismissal with prejudice. “My family and I have known Tiffany Haddish for many years – and we now know that she would never harm me or my brother or help anyone else do anything that could harm us,” Doe said. “We wish Tiffany the best and are glad that we can all put this behind us.”
Emmy winner Haddish has three projects in post-production. She stars in R-rated Kevin Hart comedy “Back on the Strip,” Disney’s “Haunted Mansion,” and sci-fi drama “Landscape with Invisible Hand.” Haddish has no upcoming dates for her comedy tour listed. Spears and Haddish were accused of intentional infliction of emotional distress, gross negligence, sexual battery, sexual harassment, and sexual abuse of a minor. Haddish was further accused of negligent supervision/failure to warn, breach of fiduciary duty, and constructive fraud. Per initial reports, the plaintiffs’ mother negotiated a settlement in 2019, but that agreement allegedly does not bind Haddish or the siblings. The mother was a former friend of Haddish’s and also part of the Los Angeles comedy scene. Jane Doe alleged Haddish asked her to mimic fellatio for a skit about children arguing over a large sandwich. The lawsuit also claimed John Doe was molested by Haddish and Spears during a skit titled “Through a Pedophile’s Eyes,” where Spears, in character, leers after John Doe. The plaintiff’s seven-year-old crotch is also shown up close on camera. A Funny or Die representative said that the site found the video “absolutely disgusting… We were not involved with the conceptualization, development, funding, or production of this video. It was uploaded to the site as user-generated content and was removed in 2018 immediately after becoming aware of its existence.” Haddish issued a statement saying, “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.” Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
