Tiffany Haddish No Longer Facing Sexual Abuse Suit, Accuser Hopes to “Put This All Behind Us”

The Jane Doe who filed a lawsuit against Tiffany Haddish has dismissed the case, dropping the charges against the actress, as well as the comedian Aries Spears, who was also named in the suit. TMZ reported Tuesday (Sept. 20) that the unnamed woman requested the judge drop her case, in which she accused Haddish and Spears of inflicting sexual abuse on both herself and her younger brother.

Now, the case has been dismissed and cannot be refiled, according to court documents obtained by TMZ. Jane Doe shared a statement after dropping the suit, but only mentioned Haddish and did not include Spears.

“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,” she stated, per TMZ. “We wish Tiffany the best and are glad that we can all put this behind us.”

Jane Doe first filed a lawsuit earlier this month accusing Spears and Aries of abusing herself and her younger brother — identified only as John Doe — while filming two separate comedy sketches. The case, which was originally reported by The Daily Beast, alleged that Jane was instructed by Haddish “how to give fellatio, including movements, noises, moaning, and groaning” while Spears watched.

She claimed that the incident took place when she was 14, and said she had been contacted by Haddish to film a video. A year later, Jane said Haddish once again reached out to her family, this time to film a Nickelodeon sizzle reel with John, who was 7 at the time.

According to the lawsuit, John was actually filmed for a sketch titled Through a Pedophile’s Eyes, which was later uploaded to Funny or Die. In the short, which has since been removed from the Funny or Die website, John is filmed mostly in his underwear, including a moment in which he “plays with a train in a manner that suggests phallic masturbation,” per The Daily Beast.

After Jane filed the lawsuit, Haddish responded on Instagram, where she expressed regret and promised to share more details in the future.

“I know people have a bunch of questions. I get it. I’m right there with you,” Haddish wrote in a statement posted to Instagram Sept 5. “Unfortunately, because there is an ongoing legal case, there’s very little that I can say right now. But, 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. I really look forward to being able to share a lot more about this situation as soon as I can.”

If you or someone you know needs to reach out about sexual abuse or assault, RAINN is available 24/7 at 800-656-HOPE (4673), or online at RAINN.org.