Tiffany Haddish accuser reportedly drops court case: ‘We now know that she would never harm me or my brother’
The plaintiff reportedly asked the judge to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning it cannot be filed again.
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Your support makes all the difference.The Jane Doe accusing Tiffany Haddish and Aries Spears of child sexual abuse has withdrawn her case.
In a lawsuit filed at the Los Angeles Superior Court on 30 August, a 22-year-old woman using the pseudonym Jane Doe alleged that the two comedians forced her and her 15-year-old brother –pseudonym John Doe – separately to perform inappropriate acts on camera when they were both minors.
Representatives for Haddish and Spears denied the allegations in separate statements on 1 September.
In new court documents obtained by TMZ, the plaintiff reportedly asked the judge to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning it cannot be filed again.
In a statement published by TMZ, Jane 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.”
The statement does not mention Spears, who is also cleared following the dismissal.
The plaintiff had previously accused the pair of “intentional infliction of emotional distress, gross negligence, sexual battery, sexual harassment, and sexual abuse of a minor.”
According to the complaint, Spears played a paedophile in the video, which included scenes of him massaging oil onto John’s back, among other sexually suggestive acts. The lawsuit claimed that after the shoot ended, “[John] called his mother crying, saying he did not want to film anymore”.
The report indicates that at the time, Jane was 14 years old and John was seven.
Elsewhere in the suit, Jane claimed Haddish recruited her to film a commercial after she attended a comedy camp where Haddish was a guest speaker.
According to the legal documents, Haddish and Spears allegedly had Jane watch a video in which a man and woman shared a sandwich in “a manner that simulated the act of fellatio” while “moaning and making sexual noises”.
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Spears then allegedly told Jane “to mimic what she had seen on the screen, including the noises precisely like what she heard throughout the video”.
In an Instagram post shared on 5 September, Haddish wrote: “Clearly, while this sketch was intended to be comedic, it wasn’t funny at all – and I deeply regret having agreed to act in it.”
If you’re worried about a child, even if you’re unsure, you can contact professional counsellors at the NSPCC for help, advice and support by emailing help@nspcc.org.uk or calling 0808 800 5000. For those 18 or under, Childline offers free, confidential advice and support whatever your worry, whenever you need help. Call 0800 1111 or Contact Childline.