Tiffany Haddish Doesn’t Care What You Think of Her

When Tiffany Haddish arrives to our interview, I greet her by saying, “Hi, Tiffany, how are you?” She replies, “Successful. How are you?”

The answer is that I am not as successful as Haddish, 45, whose new Peacock docuseries, Tiffany Haddish Goes Off (November 13), is a Girls Trip–inspired delight that follows the comedian — who also executive produces — and three of her closest childhood friends on a monthlong trip to South Africa, Zimbabwe and Tanzania.

I need not fret, though: “You woke up today, so you’re winning,” she reassures me. “I’m looking at that success.” 

Haddish first won over audiences as outrageous scene stealer Dina in 2017’s Girls Trip alongside Regina Hall, Jada Pinkett Smith and Queen Latifah. And although people tend to conflate Dina and Tiffany (we’ve never looked at a grapefruit the same), there are many sides to this leading lady. Anyone who’s read her memoirs, including the 2017 bestseller The Last Black Unicorn, clocked her awards — she’s already got the first two letters of an EGOT — or followed the work of her She Ready Foundation for kids in foster care already knows that. Everyone else is about to find out.

Haddish was in the foster care system herself and works on multiple projects that deal with food insecurity and education, including an ongoing plan to open Diaspora Groceries, an affordable market catering to BIPOC individuals, in her hometown of South Central L.A., where she still lives today.

When I ask whether she thinks people know how multifaceted she is, she says, “I think they just think I’m a joke, and that’s fine. I’m not doing it so everybody knows Tiffany does these nice things. I’m doing what I do because I see the necessity for relief.” That’s also her approach to comedy. “Laugh and get that stuff out of your body,” she says. “Help heal your organs.”

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Shot exclusively for Us Weekly at Regent Santa Monica Beach resort in the Santa Monica Suite, Haddish got candid with Us about her career, friendships, romantic status and endless quest for knowledge.

What made you want to bring your lifelong friends — sisters Shermona Long and Sparkle Clark, and Selena Martin — along for the ride on Tiffany Haddish Goes Off, as opposed to some of your newer Hollywood friends?

They deserve a trip like that because they’ve been good friends all these years. Your friends deserve awards; like, give them some kind of a treat for being a good friend… Why would I take my newer friends? They haven’t even earned it. These new people, they’re all shiny and s***. Take yourself to Africa, shiny new friend. I want to go with my little rusty-dusties over here. All of us have seen each other at our worst and have picked each other up. I know I can depend on these people. I don’t know about these new shiny people.

One of the beautiful things about the show is cultural representation we don’t always get to see, like watching you get your hair braided and seeing strong Black women in different bodies on the beach.

I know. That’s what we are, yeah? This is the real deal. I’m excited about that. We want our hair braided. We want to show [that] on camera. We’re gonna be in some swimming suits on the beach and by the pool and all of that. Why? Because that’s what’s real. That’s what we really do. 

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Something that impressed me is your willingness to show low moments, like a stand-up set in Cape Town that didn’t go great, or backlash to a social media post you made about African grocery stores.

Oh my God, I didn’t even know that stuff was in there.

I can’t tell if you’re pulling my leg.

I had no idea. I thought I killed it in that comedy show; they were standing up and clapping for me… So they made it look like I bombed?

It doesn’t look like you bombed.

Well, that’s life. I didn’t bomb, though.

I didn’t say bomb! You said bomb!

I’m not afraid to show the weaker parts or the things that might make somebody be like, “Oh, that looks bad on you.” Whatever, I’m learning.

The vulnerable parts.

Vulnerable is weak — that’s what they say, but it’s not true.

It’s not.

The drama with the grocery store in Africa and everybody kind of attacking — did I not get everybody to talk about that? And you started to learn there’s a lot of Americans out here that think the way people thought I was thinking. [In July 2024 and documented on the show, Haddish uploaded a TikTok from a grocery store in Zimbabwe to highlight perceived misconceptions about Africa. Some found it offensive; others commended it.] [Conversely] Africans all think we are gang bangers and murderers over here, like Black people [are] all about poverty, shooting, killing each other, war all the time. That’s what they think of us all over the world, as a matter of fact. They think all the Black people here is just mean, vicious and nasty, just trying to get over on y’all, just trying to hurt somebody… And it ain’t us shooting all the time. Statistically, it ain’t.

At the beginning of the show, you’re trying to find a man, but you end up more interested in self-discovery. You even marry yourself. How is the marriage going?

It’s going good. I’ve been honoring me. It’s been really fun. When guys have been hitting on me that I’m not really interested in at all, I’m like, “I’m sorry, I’m in a committed relationship.” 

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Earlier this year, you said you were dating a roster of guys who knew about each other. Where’s your head at with dating now?

I just realized it’s a lot of energy. I don’t care about these dudes at all. None of them tickle my fancy where I want to spend any real amount of time with them. Let’s go have a fun experience, and then I want to go home. Three hours maybe, four max. Like, I don’t want to hear your voice. I don’t know what I’m becoming, but I think it’s gonna be by myself. Maybe I’m tripping, I don’t know. They need to add something to the table that’s necessary and not exhausting… I’ll see a guy and be like, “Oh, he’s beautiful. Yes, I’m gonna hang out with him.” And then we’re hanging out, and the more he talks, the more I’m like, “Yeah, you ugly, man. Why don’t you just shut the f*** up and be pretty?”

You have so much stuff going on professionally: There’s this show coming out. You’re still on your Funny and Fearless comedy tour. You have all these new projects that you’re acting in, and you’re producing. Your fourth book came out in 2024. Is that your first love, working?

Not working, creating. Creating is my first love. Being able to create some joy, opportunities, jobs. Bringing joy to people right now is not nothing. 

When we started talking, you said that just getting out of bed is winning, and that’s always true, but it’s super true right now.

Super true right now! Yeah, every time you wake up, that’s a win; that’s the second chance to be better than you was yesterday. This is an opportunity to just create or do or be, or whatever you desire, because we have freedom of will. I’m desiring to share time with you today, and I’m gonna wash some dishes.

Do you really want to wash the dishes?

Yes, I do. And I’m gonna go to the foot doctor and let him look at my little toe next to my pinkie.

So a good day for the doctor too!

He gets to see my shrimps.

You have endometriosis, and there’s a bit in your stand-up when you say that if men got their period, health care would be different.

Very different. There’d be a cure. Your period would only last one day. It would be no pain. They would fix it.

And tampons wouldn’t be taxed.

They would come up with some brand-new innovation so they don’t even need tampons. Some kind of suction thing, some kind of freaky device that would suck on the tip of their thing. They will figure out something where it feels good. They’re men, that’s what they do. “Let those women suffer over there. They’re built for it.”

We are kind of built for it.

We are. But what do they got nipples for? Let’s put those nipples to use. Let’s play with their reproductive system like they want to play with ours, OK? They’ve been playing with women’s reproductive systems for hundreds and hundreds of years. They sterilized all them women in Africa, sterilized a bunch of Native American women here in America. You keep playing with our coochies, let’s play with your titties, sir. Let’s get them titties leaking. That’s how I feel. But maybe I’m crazy.

I think millions of women in this country are the same kind of crazy right now.

Because we see it. You know, the internet has been a blessing and a curse. It allows you to see certain things, and then you have to take everything you see with a grain of salt, because you don’t know how technically manipulated this information is or how many hands it’s filtered through before it got to you. But I do know what I see with my own eyes when I’m out here in the world… I’ll be going to scientists’ [offices] and asking questions, going to these universities doing all these studies. I’m in your town anyway, might as well go to your little science department where y’all are doing all these studies.

Do you actually do that?

Yes, girl, my coochie hurt! I need to know why. I want to meet the people that study this.

Give me an example. You’re in a town — where are you going?

I’m going to the research center at the university. They’re doing some studies over here at the University of Southern California on reproductive organs. They were looking for some grants and stuff. I said, Well, if they’re studying it, let me go ask some questions. Maybe they got some resources on how to keep me from hurting so bad.

Oh my gosh, what happened?

I made new friends. I make new friends everywhere I go. But also, I have a doctorate in … [she gets up to get her diploma and show it to me] … Doctor of Philosophy in Humanities, United Graduate College and Seminary International. And that’s probably because I went up there and was asking a bunch of questions about God, comparing the Torah and the Quran and the King James Bible.

I know you only care about finding a guy if he adds something to your life, but I’m wondering: Do you think men are intimidated by how smart and curious you are?

They’re afraid of me, girl, yes! I’m a lot.