Tiffany Haddish is breaking her silence on the child sexual abuse lawsuit leveled against her and Aries Spears.
In court documents filed last week, a 22-year-old woman identified as Jane Doe claimed that the comedians had sexually exploited her and her younger brother, John Doe, on two separate occasions that happened when they were 14 and 7, respectively. That said, Haddish has now responded to the accusations in an Instagram statement about her supposed role in both incidents.
"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 Girl's Trip star wrote on Monday, before specifically addressing her participation in a Funny or Die sketch called "The Mind of a Pedophile."
"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," Haddish continued. "I really look forward to being able to share a lot more about this situation as soon as I can."
According to the Daily Beast, Jane said that Haddish — a "longtime family friend" of the siblings' mother — instructed her on how to perform inappropriate sex acts on camera under the impression that it would help her get on television, after which she paid Jane $100. Additionally, the suit alleges that Haddish "aided, abetted and watched Spears sexually molest" John during "The Mind of a Pedophile" sketch, which Funny or Die told the publication was "removed in 2018 immediately after [they became] aware of its existence."
Both Haddish and Spears are being sued for intentional infliction of emotional distress, gross negligence, sexual battery, sexual harassment and sexual abuse of a minor, with Haddish also being accused of negligence supervision/failure to warn, breach of fiduciary duty and constructive fraud.
In response to the lawsuit, a lawyer for Haddish issued a statement saying that the Does' mother "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," attorney Andrew Brettler said. "Now, Ms. [redacted] has her adult daughter representing herself in this lawsuit. The two of them will together face the consequences of pursuing this frivolous action.”
See Haddish's statement below.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741.
Photo via Getty / Frazer Harrison
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