Entertainment
Tiffany Haddish Has Her Own Story About Roseanne Barr & It Is NOT Pleasant
Tiffany Haddish spilled a lot of tea in her new interview with The Hollywood Reporter. The Girls Trip star has stories about everyone from Leonardo DiCaprio to Roseanne Barr, and she's not afraid to share them. Tiffany Haddish claimed Roseanne Barr was racist toward her, and the story will probably make you cringe. (Bustle reached out to Barr's rep about Haddish's claims, but did not receive an immediate response.)
Haddish told THR that she and a friend, Anna, walked by Barr's El Segundo house several times, and Haddish tried to compliment the Roseanne star. But according to The Last O.G. actor, she didn't receive a warm response. She told THR of the experience,
"One day, we were walking around the neighborhood, and Anna says, 'Oh, Roseanne lives there.' Now, I loved Roseanne, and the next day we walked by, and she was in her yard. I say, 'Hiiii, Roseanne.' She looks at me (makes a disgusted face), and ran in the house. I thought, 'Maybe she don't want to be bothered today.'"
When Haddish and her pal went back, Barr reportedly gave a different response, because Anna was the one doing the talking. Haddish explained,
"A week later, we walk by again, and I told Anna — she's Hispanic, but she looks white — she should say hi this time. So she says, 'Hi, Roseanne,' and Roseanne goes, 'Hey!' I thought, 'Maybe she got to know us.'"
In the end, though, it sounds like Barr left a negative impression on Haddish. She told THR that she went back a final time, and Barr apparently ignored her again:
"Then I go back, like, a week later, I wave again and say, 'Hi, Roseanne! I love your comedy,' and she (makes the same disgusted face) and turns her head. I think, 'F*ck that b*tch.' That was 2000, maybe 2001, so it's not new. She been racist, why'd you all give her a TV show?"
Haddish's comments come after ABC canceled Roseanne last month. The cancellation came after Barr posted an offensive tweet about former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett. "Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj," Barr's tweet read. Barr later tweeted an apology for the tweet and deleted it. (Bustle reached out to Barr's rep about the cancellation when it happened, but did not hear back.)
ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey then issued a statement about Roseanne's cancellation on May 29. "Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant, and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show," the statement read. Some fans have called for Roseanne to continue without its titular star, but there's been no confirmation that will happen.
Barr hasn't shared her side of the story about what happened with Haddish. But it's disappointing to hear that the actor felt so discouraged by the interaction, especially since she'd set out to praise Barr's work.
Haddish's story about Barr isn't the only part of the THR interview about other celebrities, either. The comedian also talked about her jokes about wanting to sleep with Leonardo DiCaprio, which she's apparently had a conversation about with Leo himself. She told THR that she had a very specific request: If they slept together, she wanted him to be in character as Arnie from What's Eating Gilbert Grape.
Haddish also discussed the "Who bit Beyoncé?" scandal during the THR conversation. She can't talk about the actor in question by name, but a well-placed facial expression has plenty of fans thinking the mystery has been solved once and for all. Apparently, when Rose mentioned Sanaa Lathan, Haddish just smiled.
These examples are a reminder that Haddish is just as entertaining during interviews as she is on screen in movies and TV shows. And the THR article, especially Haddish's comments about DiCaprio, will only make fans more excited for her next projects. Her anecdote about Barr is a disappointing one, but it sounds like she hasn't let the incident affect her too deeply. These days, if Haddish told a fellow comedian she was a fan of their work, they'd probably be thrilled.