Comedians Tiffany Haddish and Aries Spears are being sued over accusations that they forced a pair of siblings to act in sexually explicit skits that allegedly ended up being published on the Funny or Die website in 2018.
A 22-year-old woman, identified anonymously as Jane Doe, and her brother, born in 2007 and identified in court as John Doe, filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, NBC News reports. The siblings said they were children when the comedians coerced them to take part in sexually explicit skits in separate incidents in 2013 and 2014. According to the complaint, Haddish and Spears “stole the youth of a 7-year-old child and a 14-year-old child.”
Jane, according to the lawsuit, was 14 years old when she met Haddish at a summer camp where the comedian appeared as a guest speaker. That’s when Haddish allegedly told Jane that she had the “perfect role” for her.
The perfect role, however, turned out to be a sexually explicit skit which involved Haddish teaching Jane how to mimic fellatio, the complaint states. According to The Daily Beast, Jane said she and her mother had no idea what the skit would involve.
“Only Spears and Haddish knew the storyline for the skit,” the complaint states.
Spears and Haddish allegedly told Jane to watch a video that showed a group of coeds eating a sandwich in a suggestive manner from opposite ends, “moaning and making sexual noises as they both ate the sandwich in a manner that simulated the act of fellatio.”
“Physically, emotionally, and mentally uncomfortable, Plaintiff Jane Doe mimicked the acts that Haddish and Spears wanted her to do so she could go home,” the complaint stated.
Haddish allegedly made another offer to the family in 2014, telling the siblings’ mother she had a role for the younger brother. The comedian, according to the complaint, described the role as a “sizzle reel for Nickelodeon.”
Jane said she accompanied her brother to the Nickelodeon shoot to serve as a chaperone. But the siblings were allegedly told that they needed to be “separate” for the skit.
John, according to the complaint, was told to strip “down to his underwear” for a skit titled “Through a Pedophiles Eyes.” The storyline allegedly revolved around a child who was left alone with a man played by Spears. According to the lawsuit, Spears’ character “leers at the child lustfully” in multiple scenes before massaging him with oil. The man later gets into a bathtub with the boy and forces him to come “closer to him in the tub,” the complaint states.
John, according to the complaint, was “portrayed as leering lustfully” at the man in the final scene. As the video closes, the words “WATCH WHO YOU LEAVE YOUR KIDS WITH!” appeared on the screen, the lawsuit states.
“After filming, Mr. Doe called his mother crying, saying he did not want to film anymore,” the complaint said.
When the mother repeatedly asked the actors about “what was filmed that made her son cry,” Spears allegedly said the footage was still not edited and he would get back to her later about providing her with the unedited footage. Haddish, according to the allegations, said she doesn’t have a copy of the footage, but that the skit was meant to be funny.
Spears later allegedly told the mother that the footage has been deleted because John had been so uncooperative, the lawsuit states. The siblings, however, said John’s skit appeared on the Funny or Die website in 2018.
Funny or Die acknowledges the video's existence.
Speaking to TMZ, a representative for Funny or Die acknowledged the video’s existence but denied that they had any involvement in its creation. “Funny Or Die found this video absolutely disgusting and would never produce such content,” they said in a statement.
“We were not involved with the conceptualization, development, funding, or production of this video,” the representative told TMZ. “It was uploaded to the site as user-generated content and was removed in 2018 immediately after becoming aware of its existence.”
Social media sleuths uncover the alleged video.
While the video appears to be scrubbed from the internet, a website for archived content has revealed a copy of the alleged clip. One part of the skit shows Spears sitting next to the boy in a tub and making a reference to Jerry Sandusky, the former coach from Penn State who was accused of sexually abusing children.
“Did you know I was best friends with Penn State’s Sandusky,” Spears tells the boy. “They have a touch, but don’t tell policy.”
Trigger Warning: Viewers should be advised that the footage contains disturbing scenes.
Tweeting just in case the tweet I RT gets deleted.
Aries Spears and Tiffany Haddish both deserve hell for this.. under a jail… this is not funny. It’s disgusting and I hope that mother and her children win the fucking case.— ✨capricorn✨ (@MajesticKeila) September 2, 2022
A tweet from 2018 also shows a social media user reacting to the alleged video, further confirming the video’s existence.
Omg what parent agreed to allow their little boy to do this skit and who was behind the camera shooting a little boy lusting Aries Spears then rubbing on him? Jesus. I know it’s a couple of years old but god damn.
— Casting Gurl Wonder (@HelloMocha) June 17, 2018
The siblings, who say their mother previously tried to reach a $15,000 settlement with Spears over the alleged molestation video, are suing Haddish and Spears for damages, USA Today reports. They say Jane has been unable to “trust anyone” since the incident, while John is facing depression and anxiety. John alleges that he is so afraid of being watched that he puts bandaids over electronics and cameras, according to TMZ.
Haddish has hired Andrew Brettler as her attorney. Brettler, the go-to lawyer for many men in Hollywood accused of sexual abuse, has represented Prince Andrew, Armie Hammer, Chris Noth and more.
