Comedian and actress Tiffany Haddish pokes fun at recent DUI arrest during stand-up routine
On Friday 24 November 2023, American actor and comedian Tiffany Haddish was arrested in Beverly Hills for suspicion of driving under the influence in the early morning. The Emmy and Grammy winner’s arrest came after she had performed at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles on Thursday night for its 43rd Thanksgiving Feast and Show.
TMZ released footage of two police officers escorting Haddish to their car several hours later. The devil works hard, but TMZ works harder—especially if it’s about a celebrity arrest.
Later that Friday, Haddish performed another stand-up show at the Laugh Factory and addressed her controversial interaction with law enforcement. “I had prayed to God to send me a man with a job, career, preferably in a uniform, and I answered my prayers,” the comedian joked after an audience member asked what had happened the night before.
Authorities at that time suspected that Haddish had smoked marijuana before getting behind the wheel, leading to the arrest. Haddish posted a $1,666 bond to be released from custody while awaiting the resolution of the case. According to The Guardian, her trial in that matter is tentatively scheduled for January 2024.
Haddish had previously been arrested on the same charge in Atlanta, Georgia in 2022. Back then, she was taken into custody after someone saw a driver asleep at the wheel. As with this case, police officers assumed that Haddish had been under the influence of marijuana and charged her with a DUI. The actress remained in custody for a few hours after posting the same amount of bond. Her trial was then scheduled to take place the next month.
This recent incident is part of a mounting pile of controversy that has surrounded the comedian in recent years. Haddish entered the comedy scene as a remedy to male chauvinism and the subtle racism displayed by some of her peers. The actress’ routines were hailed as honest, frank and uncompromisingly funny takes on modern womanhood, specifically Black womanhood.
Nevertheless, it seems as though she has been pushing the envelope open a bit too far recently. In August 2022, Haddish and fellow stand-up comedian Aries Spears were accused of child sexual abuse.
In a lawsuit filed at the Los Angeles Superior Court, a 22-year-old woman going by the pseudonym Jane Doe alleged that the two comedians forced her and her 15-year-old brother to perform inappropriate acts on camera when they were both minors. According to the report, Doe was 14 years old when she was harassed and her sibling was seven.
The videos were allegedly posted to the website Funny or Die. A spokesperson for Funny or Die told The Daily Beast in a statement that they “found this video absolutely disgusting and would never produce such content.”
In September of that year, the plaintiff asked the judge to dismiss the case with prejudice. In a statement published by TMZ, and relayed by The Independent, Doe said: “My family and I have known Tiffany Haddish for many years—and we now know that she would never harm me or my brother or help anyone else do anything that could harm us. We wish Tiffany the best and are glad that we can all put this behind us.”
Nevertheless, the accusations still hurt Haddish’s career, with the actress stating that she lost jobs over them. “I lost everything,” the comedian told TMZ at the time. “All my gigs, gone. Everything, gone… I don’t have no job. I don’t have no job, bro.”
Responses to her recent DUI arrest ranged from empathy to mockery and outright condemnation of Haddish’s actions.
