Tiffany Haddish got permission to make a herpes jokes about Usher.
While speaking to Cosmopolitan for an interview published on Thursday, the comedian claimed she asks for permission to make jokes at the expense of celebrities.
“I never thought you could just say horrible things about somebody and think they’re not going to slap the s**t out of you, and I think that’s because I grew up in foster care,” Tiffany told the publication. “I check and verify with people. If I can’t say it to your face, I shouldn’t be able to say it. Period. That’s how I draw the line.”
This rule applied to Tiffany’s joke about Usher having herpes. She explained in the interview, “I got this joke, ‘I curse you out with joy. I hope that you spread it. I hope you spread it like Usher spreads herpes.’ I have said that in front of Usher.”
Tiffany recalled the interaction in which she asked for Usher’s permission to use the joke, saying, “Usher said, ‘Your a** is crazy.’ I said, ‘Yeah, well, there’s a rumor out there saying you got herpes. I don’t know if you do or don’t, but that s**t is funny.’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, it is.'”
On what she’d do if the musician responded differently, the Girls Trip star asserted, “If he had said, ‘Tiff, don’t say that no more. I don’t like it. I’m not comfortable with you saying that,’ I would stop saying it.”
Back in 2017, multiple individuals sued the singer alleging that he exposed them to the herpes virus without their knowledge or consent. Usher’s legal team denied the allegations.