Tiffany Haddish revealed that in the early part of her career she was dealing with suicidal thoughts, but the heinous actions of her stepfather managed to snap her out of depression.
via NYDN:
The “Night School” star said in a recent interview that she managed to snap out of a serious funk in her early 20s upon learning that her stepfather had tried to kill her in a car accident that nearly claimed her mother’s life.
Haddish, 38, has previously discussed the crash, which caused her mother severe brain damage after her head went through the vehicle’s windshield. The injury led to long-term mental illness and also triggered abusive behavior toward her children, including Haddish, who along with her siblings, was placed in foster care.
At 17, Haddish was raped by a man who told her he was a police cadet in an attack that prompted suicidal thoughts and a depressed state that hovered as she lived out of her car and tried to make a living entertaining teenagers at bar and bat mitzvahs.
“I literally wanted to kill myself,” she told The New York Times. “I felt like everything in my life and everybody that came around was out to hurt me.”
But at age 21, she reevaluated her focus and turned to revenge after her stepfather told her to “buck up” and snap out of it – because she should be dead.
Haddish told The Times her stepfather said he’d cut her mother’s brakes before the car accident that nearly killed her, and that Haddish and her siblings were meant to have been in the car when it crashed.
The comedian said that to this day, she does not know if her stepfather was just bluffing to change her outlook on life or he really meant it – but that regardless, it worked, and she quickly felt the need to exact revenge.
She said she quickly took steps to land her stepfather behind bars until her grandmother stepped in and urged her to “let God handle it.”
“His life was going really great when I was trying to get revenge,” she said. “As soon as I started doing that, life started kicking him in the ass.”
If anyone’s life is “going really great” now, it’s Haddish’s, as the star’s breakout role in “Girls Trip” last year launched her into the spotlight, prompting starring roles in TV and film, as well as an Emmy Award for hosting “Saturday Night Live.”
Sheesh. Obviously God had other plans for Tiffany. If you or someone you know happens to be dealing with thoughts of suicide or depression, give 1-800-273-TALK (8255) a call and speak to someone.
