Comedian Aries Spears has responded to the recent child sex abuse lawsuit brought against him and fellow comedian and Night School star Tiffany Haddish.
“Obviously for legal reasons, I really can’t talk about anything at this time. But I just, more or less, want to say to all the loyal listeners thank you guys for all your support and for your love,” Spears said on his Spears and Steinberg podcast. “Listen, this is an extortion case. This is a shakedown and I didn’t need my lawyer to tell me this to say this but I’m gonna echo her words: ‘We won’t be shaken down.’ And believe me, it’s bothering me to not talk about the skit. Because Andy and I have been talking about it and there’s some very valid things I feel like I have to say or want to say but just can’t at this time.”
He continued: “And I’m no coward. I’m not running from anything and I’m not guilty of anything. It’s the reason why I’m not turning my mentions off on my Instagram. It’s the reason why I’m not deleting any of my old posts. And I would love to address it head-on, Tony Montana, Scarface, balcony scene, shooting a thousand Colombians. But I can’t. And it’s paining me to do because I’m a fighter, not a runner. And my character’s being assassinated. Again, I want to address the skit especially, but I just can’t.”
Spears later went on to read a DM he received from a woman who encouraged his legal team to reach out to her for help regarding the suit, allegedly explaining how she knows the person who’s trying to “shake him down” for 35 years and alleges that they’re a “huge scammer.” Aries then went on to say that the person has an alleged history of “false accusations.”
“What’s killing me is, all the people hitting me up, at no point is there a little bit of common sense or red flags. Whatever man, people are just running with this. And it didn’t help with the Lizzo thing. So I’m having a bad week, but it be what it be,” he concluded.
Additionally, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office has also responded to a letter reportedly sent by the Jane Doe who’s suing Spears and Haddish, in which she calls for the entertainers to be immediately arrested and prosecuted.
“We are aware of news reports that a letter was sent to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office regarding the alleged sexually exploitive conduct of Tiffany Haddish and Aries Spears,” the rep said, per Complex. “Unfortunately, we have not yet received the letter. We are connecting with law enforcement partners to determine whether there is an open investigation into the matter. We take these allegations very seriously and the matter will receive a thorough review if/when it is presented to us.”
As previously reported by The Root, just before the Labor Day weekend, Haddish and Spears found themselves at the center of a shocking new lawsuit in which they face accusations of child sexual abuse, sexual harassment, sexual battery and more.
The accusations stem from Jane Doe who detailed two alleged instances where Haddish, described as a close family friend at the time, recruited both her and her brother (John Doe) to perform inappropriate and sexually suggestive acts when they were 14 and seven, respectively. The treatment John was allegedly subjected to, in particular, was documented in a skit that previously lived on the Funny or Die platform, titled “Through a Pedophile’s Eyes.” That skit has since been taken off the platform, though footage of it has still been seen floating around on social media.
In a post to Instagram on Labor Day (that conveniently had the comments turned off), Haddish expressed that she deeply regrets having acted in a sketch:
“I know people have a bunch of questions. I get it. I’m right there with you. Unfortunately, because there is an ongoing legal case, there’s very little 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.”
Lawyers for both Haddish and Spears have also made statements regarding the matter.