Tiffany Haddish has spoken out about the child sexual abuse lawsuit she is facing, saying she ‘deeply regrets’ what happened.
Last week, it was confirmed that Haddish and fellow comedian Aries Spears were being sued by a woman over sexual abuse claims, with a Jane Doe lawsuit filed on Tuesday 30 August alleging the two comedians forced the plaintiff and her brother to perform sexually suggestive acts on camera for comedy sketches when the siblings were underage.
Addressing the issue on Instagram, Haddish said: “I know people have a bunch of questions. I get it. I’m right there with you.
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“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 added: “I really look forward to being able to share a lot more about this situation as soon as I can.”
The plaintiff, who is now 22, is accusing Haddish and Spears of gross negligence, sexual battery, emotional distress, sexual abuse of a minor and sexual harassment.
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In the eight-page complaint filed in LA Superior Court, Haddish and Spears are accused of grooming and molesting the then-14-year-old and her seven-year-old brother.
It says: “The Plaintiffs were both minors and were incapable of consenting to participate in sexually graphic videos distributed and published via Funny or Die‘s platform. There was no parent or guardian present.”
The lawsuit says Haddish had ‘aided, abetted and watched Spears sexually molest a child.’
Haddish’s attorney Andrew Brettler has previously denied the allegations, telling EW that the plaintiff's mother ‘has been trying to assert these bogus claims against Ms. Haddish for several years’.
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Brettler added: “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.
“Now, [the plaintiff's mother] has her adult daughter representing herself in this lawsuit. The two of them will together face the consequences of pursuing this frivolous action."
Debra Opri, an attorney for Aries Spears, said in a separate statement that her client won’t ‘fall for any shakedown’.
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A representative for Funny or Die, the website that published one of the videos at the centre of the lawsuit, 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 with the conceptualisation, 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."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 8am–10pm Monday to Friday, 9am–6pm weekends. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111
Jess Hardiman