Tiffany Haddish and Aries Spears have been accused of coercing a 14-year-old girl and her 7-year-old brother to film explicit skits.
The comedians are facing a lawsuit filed by the siblings, identified as Jane Doe, now 22, and John Doe, now 14, with Jane, who is also John’s legal guardian, as the plaintiff in the lawsuit on behalf of her minor brother.
Their mother alleges that she and Haddish, 42, established a close relationship after meeting through comedy during their respective divorces.
“We were both going through a divorce,” the mother told The Daily Beast, the first outlet to report the news. “Messy, messy, messy, messy divorces… We just got really, really super, super close.”
According to the lawsuit, Haddish regularly contacted the family for occasions such as birthdays and Christmas.
In 2013, Haddish appeared as a guest speaker at a summer camp attended by 14-year-old Jane. Around the same time, she allegedly proposed a role for Jane in her commercial without informing Jane or her mother of the shoot details.
The shoot reportedly involved Haddish instructing Jane on simulating fellatio for a skit about children arguing over a sub sandwich.
“I tried to mimic what they wanted me to mimic, but it still came out just super uncomfortable,” Jane told The Daily Beast. “I knew when I left the booth that I didn’t complete what they wanted me to do.”
Jane alleges that Haddish paid her $100 before sending her home and that she initially kept the incident to herself.
A year later, Haddish reportedly expressed interest in casting the younger brother, John, for a Nickelodeon sizzle reel. The lawsuit claims that the 7-year-old was molested by Haddish and Spears while filming a video titled “Through a Pedophile’s Eyes,” which was published online.
A representative for Funny or Die stated that they were not involved in the creation or production of the video and removed it from their site as soon as they became aware of its existence.
Spears’ attorney, Debra Opri, stated, “He isn’t going to fall for any shakedown,” while Haddish’s attorney, Andrew Brettler, labeled the lawsuit as an extortion attempt.
Both siblings claim they have developed debilitating social disorders and are suing Haddish and Spears for damages.