As the old saying goes, “comedy equals tragedy plus time.” But comedian and actor Tiffany Haddish didn’t need much in the way of time to recycle an upsetting situation into her standup set, unless you consider 36 hours a big gap.
As was widely reported this weekend, Haddish was arrested early Friday morning on Beverly Drive in Los Angeles by the Beverly Hills Police Department. According to police, they received a report of an unconscious driver in a lane of traffic at around 5:45 a.m.; photos and video from the scene, which TMZ published, show the actress in handcuffs. Police say she’s suspected of driving under the influence, the Associated Press reports. A representative for Haddish has not responded to Vanity Fair’s request for comment as of publication time.
The night before, Haddish had appeared at comedy club Laugh Factory Hollywood for its “43rd annual free Thanksgiving feast for the community,” KTLA reports. “When I first started here, I was sitting at the tables eating. I was receiving a meal,” Haddish said that night. “Full circle, and I’m so glad to keep doing that.”
Haddish was also booked at the Laugh Factory Long Beach for shows on Friday and Saturday. After she was released by police Friday afternoon, she managed to fulfill that commitment, and hit the stage that very night (but got a ride home, as TMZ notes). During her second show at the club, on Saturday, an audience member apparently asked about the arrest.
“What happened last night?” Haddish asked rhetorically. “You tell me. I don’t know.” According to the New York Post, she said she had “Prayed to God to send me a man with a job, preferably in a uniform.”
“God answered my prayers,” she said. “Because God believes in me.”
If that response sounds familiar, you’re not wrong. The Emmy and Grammy winner was arrested in Atlanta in early 2022 under very similar circumstances, when Haddish was allegedly asleep behind the wheel on a Georgia street, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported at the time.
A few months later, while acting as guest host of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Haddish said, “I’ve been praying to God to send me a man, and in January, he went ahead and sent me four. In uniform.”
“Yeah, they were the police. They got good benefits and everything, so I can’t even be mad,” Haddish said. “And yes, I did get charged with a DUI, which stands for Dumb Unfortunate Incidents.”
Details on charges for Haddish in this latest arrest have not been released as of publication time, but in the Atlanta case, Haddish was charged with DUI and improper stopping on a roadway. She’s expected to stand trial in Georgia next month, Deadline reports.
During an interview with Jimmy Fallon last year, Haddish said she was ready for court, CNN reported at the time. “And now I got a really great lawyer, and we’re going to work it out,” she said. “I’ve got to get my asking of things to God a little better!”