Actress and comedian Tiffany Haddish and fellow comedian Aries Spears are being sued for child sexual abuse.
The suit involves a 2014 sketch called “The Mind of a Pedophile,” in which Haddish and Aries used underage actors in ways that, if accurate, sound more than just a little disturbing.
The plaintiffs are Jane and John Doe, who are 21 and 14 now. At the time they were filmed by Haddish and Aries, they were 14 and 7.
The far-left Daily Beast says it has seen the skit in question, which was published at Funny or Die before being removed in 2018:
[Seven-year-old] John spends most of the video clad only in his underwear as Spears’ character leers at him through two holes cut into a newspaper he pretends to read. During the sketch, the camera zooms in suggestively on the 7-year-old’s buttocks and crotch while he plays. Spears sprays baby oil onto the child’s back and massages it into his shoulders in one scene, and at another point the child plays with a train in a manner that suggests phallic masturbation. In another sequence, Spears smokes a cigarette while observing the child nude in a bathtub and pours water on his feet.
By the time the video ends, the child is peering at his babysitter through a newspaper and rubbing baby oil on his shirtless shoulder. The final line of on-screen text reads: “WATCH WHO YOU LEAVE YOUR KIDS WITH!”
According to the lawsuit, Jane Doe, aged 14 at the time, was similarly exploited by Haddish and Spears. Jane Doe’s mother was allegedly told her daughter would star in a commercial. Instead, it was some sort of skit where the young girl was told to mimic giving a man oral sex, “including movements, noises, moaning, and groaning,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit also says Haddish became a friend of the family — so close the children considered her an “auntie.” As a result, when the events in question occurred, the children’s mother trusted Haddish to be alone with the kids and look out for them.
The lawsuit further claims that the experience has left both Jane and John with life-long trauma, for which they seek compensation.
Haddish responded via Instagram to the lawsuit Monday. Stating she did not want to comment on an ongoing legal issue, she did admit that the sketch in question “wasn’t funny at all — and I deeply regret having to act in it.”
Because we don’t know, let’s sweep everything away except for what there appears to be some evidence of, and that’s the video of the sketch.
Assuming the Daily Beast’s description of the video is accurate, you cannot excuse anyone using a child in that way, especially a seven-year-old.
The sketch’s premise sounds outrageous and humorous, but why would anyone think it’s appropriate to use a little kid that way? You don’t do that. You don’t even consider doing that. Instead, you use an adult posing as a kid..
What is wrong with these people?
And what’s wrong with the left-wing Funny or Die? In a statement, here’s what they told the Daily Beast:
Funny Or Die found this video absolutely disgusting and would never produce such content. We were not involved with the conceptualization, 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.
Okay, so we’re told when the video was taken down in 2018, but how long was the 2014 production available at Funny or Die?
Haddish’s attorney responded to the Daily Beast by claiming the plaintiff’s mother “has been trying to assert these bogus claims against Ms. Haddish for several years” and the mother and now-adult daughter “will together face the consequences of pursuing this frivolous action.”
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.
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