Recently, news broke that Tiffany Haddish and Aries Spears are being sued for child abuse. A 22-year-old woman accuses Tiffany and Aries of manipulating her and her now 15-year-old brother into filming sexually explicit child pornography skits for Funny or Die. The accuser is a child of Tiffany Haddish’s longtime friends. Tiffany and Aries deny the accusations. I have seen one of the videos in question, and it is bizarre.
In a 2014 video called “Mind of a Pedophile”, Tiffany plays the mother of the boy who was 7 years old then, while Aries plays Tiffany’s creepy uncle. Over the course of the video, Tiffany makes up different excuses to go out. Aries reluctantly agrees to watch the boy each time.
In the first scene as R. Kelly’s “Bump and Grind” plays in the background, Aries peeps through holes he cut in a newspaper to peer at the boy. The boy plays on the floor, dressed in nothing but his underwear. Aries licks his lips as he watches the boy.
Next, Tiffany leaves the boy in the tub and Aries in the bathroom with him. Aries makes some creepy faces and eventually crawls into the tub with the boy.
In the last scene, the roles are reversed, and when Tiffany leaves, the boy peeks through the holes of the newspaper and watched Aries. Then the boys begins to rub baby oil on Aries as R. Kelly’s song continues to play. At the end, a caption reads “Watch Who You Leave You Kids With” or something of that nature. It’s placed there as a disclaimer of sorts that lets the reader know the video is addressing a serious issue in a satirical way. However, is there more to the story? Are Tiffany Haddish and Aries Spears molesters?
Are Tiffany and Aries Wrong?
The 22-year-old victim also described another time where Tiffany and Aries coerced her into mimicking fellacio for a skit in 2013. The victim was about 13 years old. This too made her feel uncomfortable. The purpose of this video hasn’t been addressed by Aries or Tiffany.
Child abuse is an issue within the Black family that many times go unaddressed. The accused is usually somebody close in relation to the child. The victims grow up feeling damaged and may suffer psychologically. What’s done to them can’t be undone. Though they might heal with time, they will always remember what happened to them. So, shedding light on this issue is important. However, what Tiffany and Aries did was counterproductive.
Although Tiffany and Aries may argue they shot “The Mind of a Pedophile” with good intentions to bring awareness to sexual abuse within families, the pair did a terrible job of executing it. The video with the boy is disturbing at best; at worst, it’s criminally sick.
Some might say the warning “Watch Who You Leave Your Kids With” was placed there to protect Tiffany and Aries. They might say the two knew how the video could be perceived and decided to place the warning there in the event of public fallout.
Still, questions are unresolved: Who was the adult in the room? Who’s responsible? Funny or Die, the comedy video website, acknowledges working with Tiffany and Aries but deny having anything to do with the videos. Authorities must conduct a full investigation into Tiffany, Aries and this company and its practices.
What Does This Mean for Tiffany and Aries?
I had been a fan of Tiffany Haddish for more years than I care to count. Her story of coming from an abusive family and growing up poor stuck with me. Even when she was cracking jokes in front of an audience of ten, I always knew her future was bright. Now, that brightness is dimming.
I’m not sure how the world is going to treat Tiffany. The allegations against her are a mountain of trouble. At least one video exists, and from this, many will draw their uncomfortable opinions. Hollywood doesn’t want to fight for actors or comedians. It is a heartless place focused solely on its bottom line. This might be a five-to-ten-year setback for her.
Aries Spears was hot in the ’90s and early 2000s. His career had been on the decline until recently. He’s been hosting a podcast and appearing other places. His money doesn’t come from the mainstream as much as Tiffany’s. So, he’s not as vulnerable as Tiffany Haddish because Hollywood is about done with him anyway.
Also, as furious as we may become, some might point at that similar things have happened in Hollywood. For instance, in Godfather, 16-year-old Simonetta Stefanelli was forced to be bare-chested for a sex scene with 30-year-old Al Pacino. That movie lives on in Pop Culture as a classic, although it literally has child pornography in it. Furthermore, in 2019, Seth Rogan released Good Boys, a film where three real 13-year-old boys watch porn, play with sex toys and do other sexually inappropriate things.
The Takeaway
Tiffany Haddish and Aries Spears did produce at least one inappropriate skit starring a child. It was done for laughs, but it fell flat and crossed too many lines. In the end, they harmed two kids who have to live with the haunting memory of being used in such a disgusting way. What the future holds isn’t clear, but one thing is for sure: this is going to cost Tiffany Haddish a lot more than it will Aries Spears.
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