Tiffany Haddish Explains Why She Became 'Sarah' Online

Tiffany Haddish has had it with trolls—and she hasn't been passive about it. The comedian and Girls Trip star reveals to the Los Angeles Times that she has taken a proactive stance at dealing with people who harass her online, including taking on a fake persona. More:

• Backstory: NBC News notes that Haddish, 44, has become a "polarizing figure" over the past few years, due to various legal issues, including a couple of DUI arrests, and a 2022 lawsuit by a woman and her brother that claims Haddish and fellow comedian Aries Spears groomed them as kids. After those incidents, the online vitriol against Haddish "exploded," per NBC.

• Alter ego: Haddish tells the Times she then set up a phony Instagram account under the name "Sarah," which she used to fight back against the harassment online.
• Calling her trolls: She didn't stop there, either. "I've learned how to find people's information—like I pull up the credit report, police records," she says. "You can do that for $1.99. Sometimes, I get so mad that I'll get they phone number and I'll just call them."
• Trolls' reaction: "They be shocked that I called," Haddish says. "They'll be like, 'I can't believe you even saw that,'" she adds, referencing content that people put up to slam her. Haddish's response to trolls who say such things to her: "You did a whole video, b----! You made a full, five-minute video! On the internet, people think they can just say whatever and you not gonna say anything. I try my best not to, but I'm a human being."
• On sobriety efforts: The comedian also chatted with People last month, noting she hadn't had a drink since her last DUI arrest in November, and she's now challenging others to do the same. "Stop drinking for six months and just see how your life changes," she said. "You're going to have your snatched body back, you're going to see your relationships will be better, and you'll stop dealing with people you don't need to be dealing with." For her, she had one big issue tied to all that that's since (apparently) been remedied: "I was waking up next to ugly men," she says.

Read more from her Los Angeles Times interview here. (More Tiffany Haddish stories.)