Comedians Tiffany Haddish and Aries Spears have been accused in a new lawsuit of grooming and sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl and her 7-year-old brother, coercing them to perform sexually suggestive acts on camera.
But the 42-year-old “Girls Trip” star’s legal team claimed that the lawsuit is an extortion attempt, calling it a shakedown, TMZ reported.
“Plaintiff’s mother, Trizah Morris, has been trying to assert these bogus claims against Ms. Haddish for several years,” Andrew Brettler, Haddish’s lawyer, claimed in a statement obtained by TMZ.
He continued, “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. 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.”
In a statement to Page Six, Spears’ attorney Debra Opri said, “He isn’t going to fall for any shakedown.”
The comedians are being sued by the siblings, identified as Jane Doe, now 22, and John Doe, now 14, in the legal documents, according to The Daily Beast, the first outlet to report the news. Jane, who is also John’s legal guardian, is the plaintiff in the lawsuit both individually and on her minor brother’s behalf.
In the lawsuit, Jane alleged that she was just 14 when Haddish, who was close friends with her mother, told her that she’d discovered “a perfect role” for the teen in her very own commercial. According to the suit, Jane and her mother were not aware of shoot details, while Haddish and Spears, 47, were said to know the plot.
The shoot allegedly involved Haddish teaching Jane how to mimic fellatio for a skit about kids arguing over a sub sandwich.
“Haddish verbally explained what was expected of Plaintiff Jane Doe and then showed Plaintiff Jane Doe how to give fellatio, including movements, noises, moaning, and groaning,” the lawsuit claimed.
After filming, Haddish paid Jane $100 before sending her home, the lawsuit alleged.
A year later, Haddish allegedly told the siblings’ mother that she wanted to invite the younger brother, John, to film a Nickelodeon sizzle reel.
But the suit alleged that the then-7-year-old boy was molested by Haddish and Spears while filming a video that was later published online via Funny Or Die with the title, “Through a Pedophile’s Eyes.” According to The Daily Beast, which reviewed a recording of the clip, John was dressed only in underwear for most of the video.
In a statement obtained by TMZ, Funny or Die denied any involvement in the creation of the video, calling it “absolutely disgusting.”
“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,” the comedy video website added.
The siblings said in the lawsuit that they continue to suffer trauma from Haddish and Spears’ alleged actions.
Jane allegedly struggles to trust people and has developed a social disorder that prevents socializing. She “feels constant remorse knowing that she was only a few feet away” from the room where her then-7-year-old brother was allegedly being molested, according to the suit.
