Tiffany Haddish Says She Checked with Usher Before Making Herpes Joke About Him
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Potentially awkward topics aren't off-limits for Tiffany Haddish's material, even when it comes to people she knows — but she makes sure to get their approval first.
The actress and comedian, 42, said in her cover interview for Cosmopolitan's 2022 Travel issue that "I check and verify with people" before making jokes that involve them.
"If I can't say it to your face, I shouldn't be able to say it. Period. That's how I draw the line," Haddish said.
One example? "I got this joke, 'I curse you out with joy. I hope that you spread it. I hope you spread it like Usher spreads herpes.' I have said that in front of Usher," she told the magazine.
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Unique Nicole/WireImage; Paras Griffin/Getty Tiffany Haddish; Usher
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In response, the "My Way" singer said, " 'Your ass is crazy,' " according to Haddish.
"I said, 'Yeah, well, there's a rumor out there saying you got herpes. I don't know if you do or don't, but that s--- is funny,'' " the Girls Trip actress continued. He's like, 'Yeah, it is.' "
But, Haddish insisted, "If he had said, 'Tiff, don't say that no more. I don't like it. I'm not comfortable with you saying that,' I would stop saying it."
Reps for Usher did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
Josefina Santos for Cosmopolitan Tiffany Haddish on the cover of Cosmopolitan
Multiple individuals previously sued Usher, now 43, alleging that he failed to warn them of his reported STD diagnosis.
In court documents obtained by PEOPLE in September 2017, the singer's legal team "denie(d) each and every allegation" made against him by Quantasia Sharpton and two others — identified as "Jane Doe" and "John Doe"— who filed their joint lawsuit the previous August.
The three individuals' lawsuits came weeks after it was revealed Usher reportedly paid a woman $1.1 million in 2012 to settle a lawsuit after she claimed to have contracted herpes from him.
A case from Laura Helm (originally dubbed "Jane Doe") was subsequently dropped in November 2017, while Sharpton's case was dismissed in September 2019, according to court documents obtained by The Blast.
