What did Tiffany Haddish say about her trip to Israel backlash? Comedian gets emotional defending herself

Tiffany Haddish, the American stand-up comedian and actress, defended her decision to travel to Israel to learn more about the October 7, 2023, attacks and their aftermath. She had received backlash over her previous words about going to the Middle Eastern country to find a man.

On Wednesday, February 21, the 44-year-old told media outlets that her trip was to understand more about what is happening in Israel, per The New York Post. When she was asked if she was looking into the actions of Israel in retaliation, the actress looked visibly emotional as she said,

"Yes, I’m going over there too. I’m a firm believer in: ‘Go see with your own eyes before you pass judgement.’ Go over there cautiously, be cautious, but go see for yourself. I care about both sides. I care about humanity. Human beings."

Over 30,000 people have been killed in the territory of Gaza since the war began, as per CBS.

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Tiffany Haddish emotionally defends trip to Israel, saying she wants ‘to learn and see with my own eyes’

Tiffany Haddish arrived in Israel on Tuesday, February 20, 2024, to look at the situation in Israel from her own eyes and then make a judgment. However, before landing, she had made some comments about her trip that were scrutinized by the public.

She went on her Instagram Live on Tuesday to announce that she was on her way to the Middle Eastern country. Tiffany Haddish then joked,

"I’m gonna meet my future man out there. I’m going to the Holy Land."

Even pro-Israel supporters were not pleased with the comedian's remark about a highly sensitive ongoing war, as per The Independent. When she reached the country, Haddish spoke to media outlets about the reason for her visit. She said,

"I can’t believe everything that I read. I need to go see for myself. I want to talk to the actual people that’s here, the people that actually experienced the situation that happened on the 7th. The people that actually have family members that are hostages that were taken out of their own homes, that were on their way to work driving from Palestine to Israel, working here on a daily basis, and how they were taken as well."

Tiffany Haddish said she wanted to talk and be with the people in Israel. She added that she "wanted to see with my own eyes, hear with my own ears." According to The New York Post, the interviewers asked what she had learned in the foreign land. The actress replied,

"I’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned that people were taken out of their homes. I’ve learned that people were taken away from the actual event that was happening. There were a lot of people killed, but a lot of people were kidnapped from that event. I didn’t know that before."

The conversation turned to Israel's actions against Palestinians after the October 7, 2023, attack. The airstrikes have taken the lives of more than 11,000 children in the Palestinian state, as per BBC. Tiffany Haddish said she wanted to look at both sides as human beings.

As per The Independent, Tiffany Haddish explained that she was joking about finding a man in Israel because she was alone on the trip and did not have a whole family full of men or a man supporting her. "I’m doing it on my own. I’m learning on my own." She continued,

"For people to say... I have to make light of something that the average female wouldn’t do, The average female wouldn’t have the courage to go see for themselves. There’s a lot of scary as* b*tches out here, and y’all can be scared, but I’m going to go ahead and follow my instincts, and learn as much as I can learn. Educate myself before I go speaking on subject matters."

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Tiffany has since performed a comedy show in Tel Aviv, Israel.