Tiffany Haddish acknowledged that “people have questions” about the assault and grooming allegations she and Aries Spears are facing.
“I know people have a lot of questions. I get it. I’m right there with you,” the comedian, 42, began her Instagram statement posted Monday morning.
“Unfortunately, because there is a lawsuit pending, I can’t say much about it at the moment.”
The “Night School” star said that while the “sketch was meant to be comedic, it wasn’t funny at all.
“…I deeply regret that I agreed to perform in it. I’m really looking forward to being able to tell a lot more about this situation as soon as possible,” she concluded.
Haddish has disabled comments on the post.
A new lawsuit filed last week accused Haddish and Aries Spears of grooming a 14-year-old girl and her 7-year-old brother and forcing them to film explicit skits.
The comedians are being sued by the siblings, identified as Jane Doe, now 22, and John Doe, now 14. Jane, who is also John’s legal guardian, is the plaintiff in the lawsuit, both individually and on behalf of her brother, since he is a minor.
In the lawsuit, the siblings’ mother alleges that she and Haddish met through comedy and developed a close relationship over their respective divorces.
“We were both going through a divorce,” the mother told the Daily Beast, which was the first to report news of the bombshell lawsuit. “Messy, messy, messy, messy divorces… We just got really, really super, super close.”
In the summer of 2013, Haddish made a guest appearance at the summer camp Jane attended and reportedly told her she had discovered “a perfect role” for the teen in a commercial. According to the lawsuit, neither Jane nor her mother were aware of the details of the shooting, while Haddish and Spears, 47, reportedly knew about the plot.
During the shoot, Haddish would teach Jane how to mimic fellatio for a skit about kids arguing over a sandwich.
“I tried to mimic what they wanted me to mimic, but it still just came out super uncomfortable,” Jane told the Daily Beast. “When I left the booth, I knew I hadn’t finished what they wanted me to do.”
Haddish paid Jane $100, the lawsuit alleges, before sending her home.
A year later, Haddish is said to have reached out again to express an interest in John for a Nickelodeon sizzle reel.
The lawsuit alleges that the 7-year-old was harassed by Haddish and Spears while filming what became a disturbing video published via Funny or Die and more online platforms titled “Through a Pedophile’s Eyes”.
A representative for Funny or Die told the Daily Beast in a statement: “Funny Or Die found this video absolutely disgusting and would never produce such content. We were not involved in the conception, development, funding or production of this video. It was sent to the site uploaded as user-generated content and was immediately taken down in 2018 after becoming aware of its existence.
In a statement to Vidak For Congress, Spears’ attorney, Debra Opri, vehemently denied the allegations, calling them a “shakedown.”
Haddish’s attorney Andrew Brettler reiterated that the lawsuit is an attempted extortion.
“The plaintiff’s mother, Trizah Morris, has been trying to make these false claims against Ms. Haddish for years,” he told Vidak For Congress.
“Every attorney who initially took her case — and there were several — eventually dropped the case when it became clear the claims were baseless and Ms Haddish would not be shaken.”