Serious allegations. Tiffany Haddish was accused of child sexual abuse in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, August 31.
“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,” the standup comedian wrote via Instagram on September 5.
The suit alleges that Haddish and comedian Aries Spears encouraged two plaintiffs — siblings identified only as Jane and John Doe — to perform sexually suggestive acts on camera while underage.
According to The Daily Beast, the complaint claims that Haddish, a friend of the plaintiffs’ mother, recruited Jane, then 14, for a commercial in which she was instructed to simulate fellatio on a sandwich. The lawsuit alleges that Haddish demonstrated to the minor how to perform the oral sex act.
Jane, now 22, told The Daily Beast earlier this month, “At that point, I knew a hundred percent what they wanted out of me. I tried to mimic what they wanted me to mimic, but it still came out just super uncomfortable.”
Per the lawsuit, the Girls Trip actress and Spears also recruited Jane’s then-7-year-old brother, identified as John, to film a video one year later. The short, titled “The Mind of a Pedophile,” was posted on Funny or Die.
Haddish addressed her involvement in the creation of the sketch via Instagram on September 5.
“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,” the Last Black Unicorn author, who played the young boy’s guardian in the video, wrote.
The California native’s attorney, Andrew Brettler, dismissed the allegations against his client in a statement to The Los Angeles Times.
“Plaintiff’s mother, Trizah Morris, has been trying to assert these bogus claims against Ms. Haddish for several years. 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,” he said. “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.”
An attorney for Spears, Debra Opri, told the outlet that her client “isn’t going to fall for any shakedown.”
Scroll through for everything to know about the allegations and the ongoing case: