Tiffany Haddish has broken her silence after she and fellow comedian Aries Spears were accused of grooming and molestation.
Last week, a 22-year-old woman sued the pair on behalf of her younger brother and herself. They were identified as Jane and John Doe, respectively.
In court documents, Jane alleged that Haddish “groomed” the plaintiffs, traumatizing them and leaving them with social disorders.
In the lawsuit obtained by TMZ, Jane said she was 14 years old when Tiffany Haddish allegedly convinced her to film a sexually suggestive video and taught her how to mimic a sexually explicit act.
The lawsuit also alleges that John Doe, who was seven at the time, was molested by both Spears and Haddish while filming a video which was titled “Through a Pedophiles Eyes.”
The video, which was uploaded to Funny Or Die as user-generated content, was reportedly removed in 2018.
Tiffany Haddish speaks out against allegations
The 42-year-old comedian took to Instagram to break her silence on the child abuse allegations.
“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. 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 wrote, adding: “I really look forward to being able to share a lot more about this situation as soon as I can.”
A clip purported to be the video has been circulating on social media following the release of the lawsuit.
Aries Spears and Tiffany Haddish’s lawyers claim lawsuit is an extortion attempt
Haddish’s attorney, Andrew Brettler, who previously represented Prince Andrew, told TMZ that the lawsuit was an extortion attempt.
In a statement to the publication, he identified the plaintiff’s mother by name and claimed that: “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”
He described the lawsuit as an attempt to have Haddish “shaken down” and threatened repercussions to the plaintiff and her mother.
“The two of them will together face the consequences of pursuing this frivolous action,” he said.
An attorney for Aries Spears, Debra Opri, also claimed the lawsuit was a “shakedown.” In 2018, the mother of the plaintiffs allegedly attempted to reach a $15,000 settlement with Spears but they reportedly could not come to an agreement.