Grammy and Emmy winning comedian, actress, and author Tiffany Haddish is fueled by laughter. She’s known for her unapologetic humor and refusal to shy away from getting personal. She first made a splash with her standout role as Dina in the 2017 film Girls Trip. In addition to her career on screen, she wrote her best-selling memoir The Last Black Unicorn, which chronicles her difficult childhood and rise to fame. She now hosts the Vice TV series Black Comedy in America, where she explores the historical impact of Black comedians.
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For her Treat, Haddish introduces us to her grandmother, a key figure in shaping her comedic path from a young age. Her grandmother fueled her love for comedy by supplying her with VHS tapes of legends like Flip Wilson, Nipsey Russell, and Richard Pryor. Even as a baby, Haddish had a knack for making people laugh, and her grandmother's laughter has remained a strong and steady source of inspiration throughout her life and career. Haddish shares that she’s kept a recording of her grandmother's laughter, giving it a listen whenever she's feeling low.
More: Tiffany Haddish talks Black Comedy in America (The Treatment, 2024)
This segment has been edited and condensed for clarity.
My grandma introduced me to comedy. She introduced me to what she thought was funny. My mom, she played a lot of albums and stuff in the house, but my grandma would give me these VHS tapes. And if you don't know what a VHS tape is, look it up. But she would give me these VHS tapes with all these old school sketch shows — Red Skelton, Nipsey Russell.
And then, who was it that wore the dresses? Flip Wilson, who I just loved. I loved me some Flip Wilson. I want to always call him Frank. I don't know why I want to always call him Frank. I probably knew him in a past life, and his name was Frankfurt or Franklin, and I called him Frank for short. We was probably soldiers together, something, I don't know, but instant connection to him.
She gave me the Richard Pryor sketch show because she knew that I loved comedy. My family would always tell you, Tiffany's a happy baby. If she saw somebody sad or crying in the room, she gonna come in there and try to make them laugh. And I would, I would drop my pamper out of nowhere, silly stuff I would do just to get a laugh, just to hear that sound. And I guess I've been addicted to it since day one, [making] funny faces.
I remember the first time my grandma gave me broccoli, and it probably wasn't my first time having broccoli, but I remember my grandma gave me broccoli and I was like, "I love baby trees! I want more baby trees!" My grandma's laugh was the most purest, most awesomest thing. You could tell it was coming from her root chakra, and it would just fill me up with so much joy to hear her laughing and to see her smile. It is the thing I miss the most, and I know it is the thing that made me who I am today — to hear that laugh. I've recorded it. I got it. Sometimes when I get down, I listen to it just to keep me going… just her joy, her love for me.