*Over the weekend, comedian and actress Tiffany Haddish caught some incoming after sharing a TikTok video of her experience in a Zimbabwean supermarket. The video, filmed in Harare, the country’s capital, showcased Haddish marveling at the size of the store and the variety of products available. The internet quickly reacted, with many labeling her reactions as “ignorant” and “misguided.”
Criticism poured in swiftly on social media platforms. Among them, one X (formerly Twitter) user reshared a snippet of the video, commenting, “Tiffany Haddish is surprised that there’s a grocery store in Africa..? What’s wrong with these people?” The backlash prompted Haddish to defend her intentions and provide context.
Haddish responded candidly: “I am an American, a Black one at that, and told for years that people are starving in Africa, showed pictures of babies with flies on them. Told crazy stories of how they kill each other and there is war every day there.” She added that her trip to Zimbabwe was an eye-opener, noting, “I asked my Black friends to go with me and they were scared. We got here and I have been eyes full of tears finding out the truth. The media be lying. I thought I would share cause I know people in the USA that believe Africans don’t have anything.”
Haddish also expanded on her reasoning for sharing the video, explaining that the heavily-circulated clip was only a small part of her full recording. “If they would have showed you the whole video you would have seen me say I am demystifying some bulls— that we have been told and showed in America,” she wrote on X.
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In the original Sunday TikTok, Haddish can be seen walking through the grocery store, expressing shock and delight at the products she encountered. “Hey y’all, I’m out here in Zimbabwe, Harare, and look at the grocery store,” she begins. “They got a grocery store! It’s beautiful… Look at this grocery store, it’s huge! It’s absolutely humongous. In Africa, baby. Believe it.”
Expressing her intent to challenge false narratives, she remarked, “I just like demystifying s—,” while highlighting select products and noting, “It don’t smell bad. They got the sodas. They got a whole wall of alcohol. They got a frozen section. Unlike the grocery stores at home, they actually sell dishes.”
Haddish also pointed out familiar aspects of the store, such as the registers at the front, adding, “Ain’t no different from home,” before exiting the supermarket.
Despite her efforts to clarify her intentions, some viewers continued to criticize her in the comments section. EW reports that one TikTok user questioned, “Did you think we ate grass?” To this, Haddish responded, “No. But the media had me thinking all of your foods are purchased in outdoor markets with goats and cows just hanging out, waiting to be slaughtered — with all kinds of smells and flies everywhere.”
This isn’t the first time Haddish has confronted critics directly, EW also notes. Earlier this year, she revealed to the Los Angeles Times that she has gone as far as to hunt down commenters’ personal information to give them a call.
“Oh, I have called people, honey,” she said. “They be shocked that I called. They’ll be like, ‘I can’t believe you even saw that.’ You did a whole video, bitch! You made a full, five-minute video! On the internet, people think they can just say whatever and you’re not gonna say anything. I try my best not to, but I’m a human being.”
Ultimately, Haddish’s trip to Zimbabwe has spurred a larger conversation about stereotypes and misconceptions about Africa.
Through her controversial TikTok video, she aims to shed light on the realities of modern African life, countering long-held negative portrayals.
Whether her approach has been applauded or criticized, it undeniably brings valuable attention to the often unseen truths of the vibrant continent.
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