Tiffany Haddish. Leon Bennett/Getty Images
Tiffany Haddish‘s former manager and close friend Tony Mercedes offered insight into her state of mind following a rough end to the year.
“At present, Tiffany is on her annual vacation in Hawaii, where she is rebooting herself for the upcoming year,” Mercedes exclusively told Us Weekly in the aftermath of Haddish’s DUI charge. “Her spirits are up and she remains positive about the outcome of her current legal battles.”
Mercedes noted that Haddish, 44, is focused on personal growth in the new year.
“For Tiffany, it’s about really restructuring and reorganizing not only her life but her company and her brand to make sure she has the right people in place to help her get through it because she realizes she is not equipped to do everything by herself. It’s impossible,” he continued. “Somebody has to make sure she is on point and make sure that they monitor what sort of movements she makes. Is she moving to the left and maybe say let’s go the right. Find that right person to make sure she doesn’t stray off the path.”
Tiffany Haddish has been a comedy force since landing her breakthrough role in Girls Trip, but she’s also faced some challenges throughout her career. Haddish portrayed the sex-positive character Dina, who went on a blowout getaway with a circle of friends played by Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith and Regina Hall in the 2017 movie. […]
The actress was arrested for a DUI on November 24 after allegedly falling asleep behind the wheel. Haddish’s arrest came hours after she performed a Thanksgiving comedy set at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood. According to TMZ, the authorities found Haddish inside of her car in the middle of Beverly Drive in L.A.
Haddish broke her silence days later, telling Entertainment Tonight that she had plans to “get some help” so she could learn balance and boundaries. (Haddish was arrested for a DUI in Georgia two years before her current case.)
Earlier this month, Haddish was officially charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a .08 percent blood alcohol content. She pleaded not guilty to the two misdemeanors during an arrangement on Wednesday, December 20. Us confirmed that a pretrial hearing has been set for February 14, 2024.
Mercedes has since told Us that Haddish is confident in her legal team, adding, “As far as legal issues, she’s hired attorneys and she’s standing on business, and will be getting the best legal and therapeutic help she needs.”
While discussing his former client, Mercedes highlighted the growth Haddish has achieved so far.
“She has been in therapy for years,” he shared with Us. “Tiffany takes her life and career seriously because she understands what her journey represents for the next child in the foster care system that sees her as a beacon of hope and an opportunity to dwell in possibility. Tiffany presently works personally with over 40 foster kids.”
Haddish’s work with foster kids has been largely inspired by her own childhood.
“When I made it to 18. I was like, ‘OK, I got to really think bigger,’” she told Variety in June 2022 about being raised in foster care. “And I did think bigger, and I’m definitely where I thought I would be. Well, it’s bigger than what I thought, but I feel the way that I was hoping I would feel, and that’s secure in my ability to provide for me.”
With reporting by Andrea Simpson