Amid mounting allegations of sexual misconduct, an alarming number of celebrities, politicians and media moguls are facing the consequences of their problematic behavior. According to Tiffany Haddish, this culture of sexual harassment was also prevalent in the world of comedy.

In her newly released memoir "The Last Black Unicorn,"  the actress writes of her experience as a young stand-up comedian in the Los Angeles comedy scene. “I can’t tell you how many promoters tried to tell me that to get on stage, I had to get on my back,” she wrote. But according to Haddish, her response was always “Hell no!”  These days, “I see young female comics and tell them, ‘Girl, don’t let him pull your ho card,’” she wrote. “‘You’ll get more if you keep your legs closed, trust me.’”

In an interview with PEOPLE, she expanded on these incidents saying, “It seemed like everybody wanted to get in my panties. It was constant defending and battling. These men will try you every single time.” When it comes to the pressures faced by female comedians, Haddish likens the process to a kind of "hazing" saying, “Once they figure out you’re strong and you don’t roll like that, then they start treating you like a colleague.”

She encourages other women coming up in the world of comedy to stand their ground and not compromise their morals. “I look back at other women that started with me that were hilarious, they were superstars, but they compromised,” she said.

If her breakout year of career success is any indication, Haddish's uncompromising work ethic has definitely paid off.