Tiffany Haddish Recounts Racist Roseanne Encounter

Tiffany Haddish is opening up about her personal encounter with Roseanne Barr where she claims that her fellow comedian was being racist.

Haddish, the 38-year-old Girls Trip breakout star who is gearing up to host the 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards on June 18, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about meeting Barr 18 years ago. Before the fame, Haddish said she was a fan of Barr and learned where the comedian lived after frequently visiting her friend Anna in the same neighborhood.

At the time, Barr resided in a coastal California town called El Segundo where Haddish said she knew police officers by name because they pulled black people over so much. When Haddish saw Barr in her yard one day, she recalled greeting her.

However, Haddish said Barr’s response wasn’t a warm greeting in return.

“I say, ‘Hiiii, Roseanne.’ She looks at me (makes a disgusted face), and ran in the house,” Haddish told THR. “I thought, ‘Maybe she don’t want to be bothered today.’ A week later, we walk by again, and I told Anna — she’s Hispanic, but she looks white — she should say hi this time.”

When Anna greeted Barr and received a “hey” in return, Haddish said she was hopeful that the famed comic had warmed up to her. About a week later, Haddish tried expressing her love for Barr’s comedy.

“… I wave again and say, ‘Hi, Roseanne! I love your comedy,’ and she (makes the same disgusted face) and turns her head,” Haddish said. “That was 2000, maybe 2001, so it’s not new. She been racist, why’d you all give her a TV show?”

The reboot of Barr’s famous sitcom Roseanne was canceled by ABC last month after the comedian made a racially charged joke aimed at former President Barack Obama’s aide Valerie Jarrett. Barr likened Jarrett, a black woman born in Iran, to the product of the Muslim Brotherhood and Planet of the Apes.

She also accused famed investor and philanthropist George Soros of being a Nazi and has since publicly apologized for both incidents on Twitter. Jarrett previously spoke about the incident with Barr, calling for it to become a teaching moment.

“We have to turn it into a teaching moment,” Jarrett said on MSNBC’s town hall called “Everyday Racism In America” last month. “I’m fine. I’m worried about all the people out there who don’t have a circle of friends and followers who come right to their defense.”

Aside from ABC’s decision to cancel her show, Barr has also been dropped as a client by ICM Partners that represented her big television comeback.