(NOTE CONTENT) Tiffany Haddish has broken her silence when it comes to the child sexual abuse lawsuit lodged against her and fellow comedian Aries Spears.
The pair have been accused of hiring two then-children to appear in a past Funny or Die sketch called Through a Pedophile’s Eyes.
The two plaintiffs in the suit, identified as Jane Doe, now 22, and her now-14-year-old brother, John Doe, were respectively 14, and 7 years old at the time they were paid by family friend Haddish to appear in the sketch, the suit alleges. One reportedly had the female eating a hero sandwich while moaning and simulating sex acts she was coached to perform; the other had the boy playing and bathing as Spears’ character leered and interacted with him suggestively.
For its part, Funny or Die insists the video in question was user-uploaded, and the website found it “disgusting” and removed it immediately in 2018.
Taking to Instagram Sunday, Haddish wrote, “I know people have a bunch of questions. I get it. I’m right there with you.”
“Unfortunately because there is an ongoing legal case, there’s very little that I can say right now. 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 continued. “I really look forward to being able to share a lot more about this situation as soon as I can.”
Court documents also claim that Haddish told John Doe that he would be taping a reel for Nickelodeon at Spears’ home. She then allegedly witnessed the alleged incident “and aided, abetted, and watched Spears sexually molest a child,” according to the filing.
Haddish and Spears are being sued for intentional infliction of emotional distress, gross negligence, sexual battery, sexual harassment and sexual abuse of a minor.
Haddish’s attorney, Andrew Brettler, insisted to Vanity Fair that the suit is baseless, saying in a statement of the plaintiffs’ mother, Trizah Morris, “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 and Ms. Haddish would not be shaken down.”
Brettler added, “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.”
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