Comedian Tiffany Haddish is being sued by a former friend who claims she and fellow comic Aries Spears defamed her.
The civil claim, filed by a woman named Trizah Morris, says the two called her and her children liars when they filed a similar lawsuit in 2022, alleging Haddish and Spears tried to have the then-children mimic sexual acts for a skit. Haddish and Spears deny all of the allegations.
The plaintiff never had a personal relationship with Spears but casually met him in 2014, although she and Haddish were friends from 2011 to 2020.
During their friendship, the lawsuit filed by the children and referenced in the new one, alleges Haddish “groomed and solicited” her minor children to “perform in, film, record, publish and distribute sexually inappropriate” material.
This, according to the first lawsuit, was all played out in comic skits produced by the two comedians.
Morris’s daughter accused Haddish of making the then-child simulate oral sex while her brother acted in another scene with a pedophile. They allege they were victims of child abuse.
The comedian’s lawyers said in 2022, when the lawsuit was filed, “Plaintiff’s mother, Trizah Morris, has been trying to assert these bogus claims against Ms. Haddish for several years.”
“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 and Ms. Haddish would not be shaken down,” he added. “Now, Ms. Morris has her adult daughter representing herself in this lawsuit. The two of them will together face the consequences of pursuing this frivolous action.”
Haddish and Spears had the lawsuit dismissed.
Morris now says after the lawsuit was dismissed, the two defamed her by saying she was trying to extort them. She also said that Spears called her a “lying b##ch.”
In her lawsuit, she asserted in February 2023, she reached out to Haddish and Spears’ lawyer, requesting a statement to refute the extortion allegations against her.
According to her claims, Tiffany responded to her via phone on March 7, 2023, stating, “The media isn’t talking about it right now. I have four movies coming out this year and I am going to be doing a lot of press. If it comes up, I’ll be sure to mention it.”
However, Trizah stated that on June 26, 2023, she was contacted by a reporter who had recently interviewed Tiffany. Allegedly, during the interview, Tiffany made disparaging remarks about her.
In response to the lawsuit, Haddish and Spears released a joint statement that reads:
“Trizah Morris did not file the lawsuit against Tiffany Haddish and/or Aries Spears that initiated the legal proceedings which promoted Tiffany Haddish and Aries Spears to make false statements and allegations of extortion against Trizah Morris. Ms. Morris was not named as a party in the lawsuit, nor did Ms. Morris’ name appear on any court documents that led to the malicious”