When responding to criticism that she shouldn't have joked about finding a man in Israel given the seriousness of the situation, the actress claims, 'I have to make light of something that the average female wouldn't do.'
- Feb 22, 2024
AceShowbiz - Tiffany Haddish stands by her decision to travel to Israel amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The comedian has defended herself after landing hot water for traveling to the Middle East country for what she called an "educational trip" amid the country's war with Palestine.
On Wednesday, February 21, the actress joined "TMZ Live" after she arrived in Israel. "I can't believe everything that I read," she said. "I need to go see for myself. I want to talk to the actual people that's here, the people that actually experienced the situation that happened on the 7th."
"The people that actually have family members that are hostages that were taken out of their own homes, that were on their way to work driving from Palestine to Israel, working here on a daily basis, and how they were taken as well," she claimed. "I wanted to talk to the people. I wanted to be with the people. I wanted to see with my own eyes, hear with my own ears."
Of what she's learned since she arrived in the region, Tiffany shared, "I learned a lot. I learned that people were taken out of their homes. I learned that people were taken away from the actual event that was happening. All those people that were killed, there was a lot of people killed, but a lot of people were kidnapped from that event. I didn't know that before." She added, "I learned that there were 100 people that have been freed from being hostages in Gaza, but there are still 100 plus people that are over there."
When asked about Israel's counter attack in Gaza, the "Like a Boss" star said, "Yes, I'm going over there too. I'm a firm believer in: 'Go see with your own eyes before you pass judgment.' Go over there cautiously, be cautious, but go see for yourself." She insisted, "I care about both sides. I care about humanity. Human beings."
She grew emotional as saying, "I know there's a lot of religious stuff going on, a lot of control of the land, 'No Jews here, no this there' whatever... that's neither here nor there with me. It's about human life, human beings. Human beings, man! That's what I care about. That's why I'm here."
Tiffany also responded to the criticism that she shouldn't have joked about finding a man in Israel given the seriousness of the situation. "I'm here all by myself. Just like I was saying in 2018 when they were asking me about Mo'Nique and her husband, I said I don't do my business like she does her business. Because I don't have a husband. I don't have what she has. I'm all alone!" she explained. "That's what I'm trying to tell you guys. I'm doing this all by myself."
She continued defending herself, "I don't have a whole family full of men, or a man supporting me. I'm doing it on my own. I'm learning on my own. For people to say... I have to make light of something that the average female wouldn't do. The average female wouldn't have the courage to go see for themselves. There's a lot of scary a** b***hes out here, and y'all can be scared, but I'm going to go ahead and follow my instincts, and learn as much as I can learn. Educate myself before I go speaking on subject matters."
Tiffany was dragged online after she went live on Instagram on Tuesday to inform her followers about her trip to Israel. In a since-deleted video, she was sitting in business class in a plane. "I'm gonna go meet my future man out there," she joked. "I'm out. I'm going to the Holy Land. I suggest you all do it."
The "Girls Trip" star said she's traveling to Israel "to learn and see with my own eyes" because she doesn't believe what she read on the Internet. "I'm gonna see with my own eyes," she added. When asked if her trip was for "vacation or work," the 44-year-old claimed it was for a "history lesson." She explained, "This is sociology. This is an educational trip for me. I want to go get educated. I want to see what's really going on. I want to learn how it started, why it started."
