LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 21: Tiffany Haddish attends the 2024 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at the University of Southern California on April 21, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images

Tiffany Haddish’s Israel-Hamas controversy is far from her first

Haddish's latest backlash stems from statements made in her 'Netflix is a Joke' standup set.

Tiffany Haddish mentioned the nationwide campus protests over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in her Netflix Is a Joke standup set in Los Angeles, and the response to what she said is just the latest controversy to face the comedian.

Recommended Videos

Haddish’s comments went viral online, and in them, she said, in part,

There’s not genocide at the college. I give a f**** about what’s going on, on the other side of the world, but why would I give a f**** about the college? … This the s*** I’m talking about, stupid motherf***ers at the college. Ain’t never worked a goddamn day in your life.”

via The Hollywood Reporter

Haddish later clarified her position, speaking with TMZ in New York. ” … If you want to protest? Protest. But if you really want to be effective and make change, go up to the legislation office, go up to your Senator, call your council. Go to Congress. [Go to the people] who make change … it would be way more effective,” she said, in part.

Tiffany Haddish’s post-Oct. 7 trip to Israel

@tomasmier

Tiffany Haddish made a strange rant during NetflixIsAJoke’s Outside Joke fest #tiffanyhaddish #tiffanyhaddishcomedy #israelpalestine #palestine

♬ original sound – tomás mier
via Tomas Mier/TikTok

Before her divisive Netflix bit, the comedian also courted controversy when she visited Israel after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks inside the country, telling TMZ in a video,

I can’t believe everything that I read. I need to go see for myself. I want to talk to the actual people that’s here, the people that actually experienced the situation that happened on the 7th.”

via TMZ

Tiffany Haddish also mentioned her trip to Israel in her Netflix is a Joke appearance. “Palestinians was there and they was telling me what it was like over there in Gaza and they was telling me how hard it is to be from there, and I was like, ‘Damn, you describing South Central L.A. on 10, b****,’” she said, in part.

“It was crazy, and I’m very upset about the whole thing. I want there to be peace. We deserve peace; they deserve peace. Peace! And us over here causing turmoil over here don’t create peace. You know what creates peace? Take your a**over there,” Haddish added.

Tiffany Haddish’s 2022 child sex abuse civil suit

via TMZ/YouTube

Haddish’s controversial Israel-Hamas war comments came roughly two years after she and comedian Aries Spears were named in a civil suit alleging child sex abuse. According to the suit, Haddish and Spears groomed two minors who were 7 and 14 years old at the time to simulate sex acts and appear in a sexually suggestive video posted on the Funny or Die website, according to NPR. The video was taken down, the website said.

Haddish later said she regretted appearing in the skit, and though it was intended ” … to be comedic, it wasn’t funny at all.” The plaintiffs in the case later dropped the suit. Trizah Morris, their mother and Haddish’s longtime friend, sued the comedian for defamation after Haddish suggested the civil suit was an extortion attempt. As of Feb. 2024, the defamation suit was in arbitration, according to The Root.

Other Haddish controversies

via Chris Evans/X

Other high-profile controversies have followed the Girls Trip actress over the years. Among them, in 2023, she shared a post on X seemingly in support of actor Jonathan Majors, who was later convicted of reckless assault and harassment.

Sharing Haddish’s since-deleted X post, Chris Evans (no relation to the Marvel star) wrote,

“Tiffany Haddish is a mess. Let’s not forget she and her friends bullied a Black woman doctor into a suicide attempt because she was trying to give them factual information about COVID.”

via Chris Evans/X

Weeks before the Netflix is a Joke appearance, Haddish had opened up about her Jewish heritage in a Marc Maron WTF podcast interview. Israel has said Hamas killed approximately 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7. Since then, Israeli forces have killed an estimated 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza, many of whom are civilians, in what Israeli officials call a war against Hamas. Israel’s offensive in Gaza has been described as an attempted genocide by some outside observers.


We Got This Covered is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more
related content
Read Article Falling in Reverse: The Ronnie Radke controversy, explained
Ronnie Radke
Read Article Who is Kristi Noem?
Kristi Noem
Read Article How was Rita Ora’s Met Gala dress ‘older than anyone on this planet?’
Rita Ora and Taika Waititi attend The 2024 Met Gala Celebrating "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 06, 2024 in New York City.
Read Article Ryan Gosling and Mikey Day surprising the ‘Fall Guy’ cast with iconic ‘SNL’ costumes means we officially need a movie
closeup of Ryan Gosling and Mikey Day dressed as the Beavis and Butthead characters
Read Article Which ‘SNL’ cast member was shot and killed by his wife?
1993-New York, NY-Photo shows the cast of Saturday Night Live posed. Amongst those in the group are: Phil Hartman, Lorne Michaels (Producer), Ellen Kleghorne, Kevin Nealon, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, Tim Meadows, Mike Myers, Rob Schneider and David Spade.
Related Content
Read Article Falling in Reverse: The Ronnie Radke controversy, explained
Ronnie Radke
Read Article Who is Kristi Noem?
Kristi Noem
Read Article How was Rita Ora’s Met Gala dress ‘older than anyone on this planet?’
Rita Ora and Taika Waititi attend The 2024 Met Gala Celebrating "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 06, 2024 in New York City.
Read Article Ryan Gosling and Mikey Day surprising the ‘Fall Guy’ cast with iconic ‘SNL’ costumes means we officially need a movie
closeup of Ryan Gosling and Mikey Day dressed as the Beavis and Butthead characters
Read Article Which ‘SNL’ cast member was shot and killed by his wife?
1993-New York, NY-Photo shows the cast of Saturday Night Live posed. Amongst those in the group are: Phil Hartman, Lorne Michaels (Producer), Ellen Kleghorne, Kevin Nealon, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, Tim Meadows, Mike Myers, Rob Schneider and David Spade.
Author
William Kennedy
William Kennedy is a full-time freelance content writer and journalist in Eugene, OR. William covered true crime, among other topics for Grunge.com. He also writes about live music for the Eugene Weekly, where his beat also includes arts and culture, food, and current events. He lives with his wife, daughter, and two cats who all politely accommodate his obsession with Doctor Who and The New Yorker.