Want to hear an inspirational podcast that will make you laugh AND cry? The newest episode of The Champs Podcast features an extremely emotional interview with comedian Tiffany Haddish. In it, Haddish tells the heartbreaking story of her insane upbringing and the secret, cartoon-inspired source of strength that enabled her to survive it and become a successful stand-up comedian.
There’s one part, in particular, that gave me goosebumps. If you’ve got a minute, I’d like to share it with you…
It begins on the night that Tiffany and her three siblings are taken from their mother by Social Services. Her brothers and sister are placed into temporary foster homes, but Tiffany is placed into a group home.
“They ended up taking me [...] to McLaren Hall,” Tiffany recalls, “which is basically like a jail. It felt like jail. Back in the day — I did my research — they used to sterilize children there. They used to do science experiments on children there that didn’t have parents. I was sleeping in a room where […] the door locks [from the outside], and there were four beds in there and some mean-ass bitches. I thought they were going to beat me up. But I just kept on cracking jokes and smiling, [and all the while] they were like, ‘You’re gonna cry tonight! Bitch, you gonna cry!’
“I just remember they kept saying I was going to cry, and I was like, I am NOT fittin’ to cry, no matter what. I did everything but cry. I started cracking jokes, I started doing little voices, anything to make them laugh. Cuz I just remembered Who Framed Roger Rabbit? [Tiffany laughs] In that movie, there’s a scene where the detective says, ‘Why are all of these people doing this stuff for you, Roger?’ And Roger says, ‘Because I make ‘em laugh, Eddie! If you make ‘em laugh, people will do anything for you!’ And that stuck with me. So I thought, if I just make these girls laugh, they won’t whip my ass.”
FAST FORWARD 8 YEARS.
Tiffany and her siblings have been reunited and are now living with their grandmother — a loving, caring, stable influence. Tiffany’s life is finally starting to come together when she is raped by a police officer pretending to be an older teen. This causes Tiffany to begin acting out in school. As she puts it, “I was getting in trouble for talking too much and trying to be funny all the time. Whenever I would feel like I was about to cry, I’d crack a joke.”
Tiffany’s social worker soon grows tired of the constant calls from the school and gives her a choice. She can either go into psychiatric therapy or enroll in a summer camp sponsored by the Laugh Factory comedy club. Tiffany picks comedy camp.
GET READY FOR GOOSEBUMPS!
The first professional comedian to mentor Tiffany at comedy camp changes her life forever. He not only shows a genuine appreciation for her unique sense of humor, he provides an unexpected sense of closure to some of the horrors Tiffany has had to suffer.
In Tiffany’s words, “It was the first time a man told me I was beautiful and it didn’t make me feel like he was going to do something bad to me. It was the first time a man actually sat there and listened to me, like actually listened and looked like they cared about what I was saying. [It was the first time a man] laughed, laughed at what I was saying. [That man was] Charles Fleischer, [the voice of] ROGER RABBIT! He was like, ‘You are a very funny, very pretty girl.’ I was like, Roger Rabbit said I’m beautiful! My whole life had come full circle.”
Goosebumps, right?
Seriously, I was crying by the end of this podcast. Then, when I went to tell my gal, Mishka, about it, I started crying AGAIN. Great, moving stuff. Tiffany Haddish is a wonderful woman — super funny, super strong.
To listen to the interview, click here.
