Comedian Tiffany Haddish has been hit with a lawsuit as she faces shocking claims of child sexual abuse.
An anonymous woman and her brother have sued the Girls Trip star, claiming Haddish and comedian Aries Spears recruited them to appear in sexually suggestive skits while they were underage, The Daily Beast reports.
The lawsuit reportedly alleges that when the plaintiff, Jane Doe, was 14, Haddish and Spears recruited her for a video shoot that required her to mimic a clip of a group of people "moaning and making sexual noises" while eating a sandwich "in a manner that simulated the act of fellatio."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Haddish verbally explained what was expected of Plaintiff Jane Doe and then showed Plaintiff Jane Doe how to give fellatio, including movements, noises, moaning, and groaning," the lawsuit alleges, adding that Jane was "physically, emotionally, and mentally uncomfortable." She was allegedly paid $100 for the shoot.
In a separate incident, the lawsuit alleges Haddish recruited Jane's 7-year-old brother, identified as John Doe, for a video called "Through a Pedophile's Eyes" that was uploaded to the comedy website Funny or Die. In it, Haddish reportedly plays John's guardian, while Spears plays a pedophile.
According to The Daily Beast, the video depicts Spears leering at the child, massaging oil on him, and pouring water on his feet while John is nude in the bath. It also reportedly zooms in suggestively on the child's butt and crotch and shows him playing "with a train in a manner that suggests phallic masturbation," per the report.
The lawsuit accuses Haddish and Spears of "intentional infliction of emotional distress, gross negligence, sexual battery, sexual harassment, and sexual abuse of a minor" and seeks damages. Haddish's attorney in a statement to TMZ called the allegations "meritless" and the lawsuit "frivolous."
-
Fannie Flagg’s 6 favorite books that sparked her imaginationFeature The author recommends works by Johanna Spyri, John Steinbeck, and more
-
Google: A monopoly past its prime?Feature Google’s antitrust case ends with a slap on the wrist as courts struggle to keep up with the tech industry’s rapid changes
-
Patrick Hemingway: The Hemingway son who tended to his father’s legacyFeature He was comfortable in the shadow of his famous father, Ernest Hemingway
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
