Marlon Wayans Told Tiffany Haddish Why She Was Never Cast In Wayans Movies

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While hustling to make it, Haddish lived in her car, parking on streets in Beverly Hills, because as she put it,  “If Imma be homeless, I’m gonna be homeless in the best area.” Kevin Hart would help her get off of the streets, even if it was just temporarily, giving her $300 to find some place to stay. She opted for a motel.

LAS VEGAS – NOVEMBER 16: Comedian Tiffany Haddish on stage during Russell Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam at the HBO & AEG Live’s “The Comedy Festival” 2007 at Caesars Palace on November 16, 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic) 

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“Kevin gave me $300, told me to get a room for a week, and I was like, ‘I don’t know where you can get a room for a week in Los Angeles for $300, that’s impossible.’ But I got me a motel room, and he told me to write out a list of goals and start doing something every day toward those goals,” she told Vanity Fair. 

LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 21: Actress and comedian Tiffany Haddish arrives at Comedy Central’s Emmy Awards party at the STK restaurant on September 21, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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During an interview with us in 2016, Haddish said she often leaned on the fact that she could make people laugh to cover up other struggles in her life, including illiteracy when she was in school.

“I was excellent at making people laugh and getting people to do things for me,” she said. “All I knew were my ABCs and like three-letter words and McDonald’s. Things you see every day. So I was a professional cheater. I saw this movie, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and that movie is the basis of my existence. I was getting beat up in school, picked on and all of that. And when that detective said to the rabbit, ‘Why are people doing these things for you?’ He said, ‘Because I make ’em laugh, Eddie. If you make ’em laugh, they’ll do anything for you.’ And I was like, ‘That’s what I’m gonna do! I’m going to make the smart kids laugh, and they’ll let me copy their homework. Maybe someone can teach me to do this and that.’ I fit into every circle because I needed to copy [laughs].”

HOLLYWOOD, CA – MARCH 08: Actress Tiffany Haddish attends a Pre-LAFW benefit in support of the Women Like Us Foundation at Lexington Social House on March 8, 2013 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)

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While looking for her big break, Haddish was one of many Black women comedians who auditioned for Saturday Night Live after the controversy over long-time cast member Keenan Thompson saying the Black women who often tried out weren’t funny. She felt it was a waste of time.

“I feel like, personally, if you already know in your mind you’ve been following somebody for two or three years, and you’re trying to get them to be on your thing, then you get that person. Don’t have 50, 70, 800 Black women come and audition for something you know you don’t want to hire any of them for,” she said. “Now you’re wasting my gas money and my time. I could have been creating my own stuff!”

LAS VEGAS, NV – DECEMBER 01: (L-R) Actress/television host Jenny McCarthy, comedians Justine Marino, Tiffany Haddish and Lynne Koplitz arrive at the Body English nightclub inside the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino to to attend the “Dirty, Sexy, Funny” after party on December 1, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)

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Haddish would first really start making waves after being cast on the short-lived NBC sitcom, The Carmichael Show. She played the role of Nekeisha for three seasons. She almost didn’t get the role, but after some intense persuasion of star Jerrod Carmichael, and the women they initially had in mind for the part falling through, Haddish was able to get in where she fit in.

I saw Jerrod at the Comedy Club, and I walked up to him, and I was like: “Jerrod, I’m so happy for you, congratulations on the special, congratulations on the pilot, man. This is a tremendous thing you’re doing. But you know what? It’s real messed up how you didn’t ask me to come and audition or nothing. That’s real disrespectful. Why you saying you respect my comedy? Why you saying you love what I do and all that? You didn’t even invite me to audition. You telling everybody I’m talented, but you don’t give a fuck about me. You don’t give a fuck about me. But you know what? If you need help with anything just let me know. You need somebody to run lines with you. To be a PA, a stand-in, anything. I’m here to help. I’m here to be of service.” And he was like, “Okay.” Lil Rel called me two days later like, “Yo, Jerrod told me you cussed him out.” I was like, “I didn’t cuss him out, I just let him know that I didn’t like that he didn’t invite me to come in.” And then two weeks later he called me and asked me if I would come in and do the table read with him because the girl they hired was doing a play, and then I was like, “Oh, they letting me in the door. That’s it. I’m about to put my whole foot in it.”

PASADENA, CA – JANUARY 13: Tiffany Haddish attends the Winter TCA Tour – NBCUniversal Press Tour at the Langham Huntington Hotel on January 13, 2016 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by JB Lacroix/WireImage)

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Haddish has always considered the stage to be her happy place.

“Most people that are damaged and hurt, which is most comedians because we’re all pretty crazy and messed up in some kind of way, gravitate to comedy because it’s healing,” she said. “It’s straight medicine to be able to get up on stage and speak your ideas and people laugh–either in agreement or disagreement or shock or whatever. But to be able to invoke emotion in a room full of strangers is a powerful thing.”

HOLLYWOOD, CA – APRIL 06: Tiffany Haddish attends the Premiere of New Line Cinema’s “Barbershop: The Next Cut” at TCL Chinese Theatre on April 06, 2016 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Michael Boardman/WireImage)

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With her reading struggles growing up, Haddish told VLAD TV that being nominated for a Grammy for the narration of her book, The Last Black Unicorn, was a full-circle moment.

“That was kinda cool to be nominated for a Grammy for reading out loud when I couldn’t read at one point in time in my life when I was in my teens,” she said.

She stated before that with people in her life telling her she was stupid as a kid, she internalized that and believed that she couldn’t read.

HOLLYWOOD, CA – APRIL 27: Actress Tiffany Haddish arrives at the premiere of Warner Bros.’ “Keanu” at the ArcLight Cinemas Cinerama Dome on April 27, 2016 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Amanda Edwards/WireImage)

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Tyler Perry, who cast Haddish in one of her first big roles on If Loving You Is Wrong on OWN, said he knew that her personality and star power was too big for the part.

“She was bigger than the room, bigger than what we were doing,” he said to the New York Times. “I knew that eventually she would hit.”

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA – JUNE 07: Actress Tiffany Haddish attends the Women In Comedy event with July cover stars Leslie Jones, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Kristen Wiig hosted by ELLE at HYDE Sunset: Kitchen + Cocktails on June 7, 2016 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

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“I remember being that kid, feeling like, ‘Oh, I’ll never be anything.’ You know, ‘I’m just gonna be a baby mama and like, get some child support checks or something like that. That’ll probably be the best I can do,'” she told Entertainment Tonight in 2018. “And hell did I know you really can do anything you put your mind to… All I can do is just give out what I’ve got, and then hopefully all that comes back — which has been happening, so, I’m so grateful.”

LOS ANGELES, CA – JULY 13: Actress Tiffany Haddish attends the premiere of “Girls Trip” at Regal LA Live Stadium 14 on July 13, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic)