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Girls' Generation Singer Tiffany Young on Launching Her Solo Career in the U.S.


On June 28, the night her song “Over My Skin” was released, Korean American singer Tiffany Young went live on Instagram from her Los Angeles home. The 29-year-old wore a rainbow tank and pink pom-pom earrings, and looked—despite having spent half her life in Seoul, South Korea—every bit the California girl. As she thanked fans for their continued support while dancing around in her chair, Young had both the poise of an industry veteran with the exuberance of an up-and-comer on the brink of her big break.

In many ways, Young is both. Stateside audiences might not know her name, but Young is a superstar in South Korea, where she spent the past decade with popular K-pop group Girls’ Generation. Now, she’s setting off on her own and starting fresh in the United States. “I feel like I’m living out my dreams again,” Young tells Glamour. “It’s an amazing feeling.”

It’s a bold move: Young has loyal fans supporting her move, but she’s still a new artist to the U.S. And K-pop doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to crossovers. Take BoA and CL, both A-listers in South Korea who struggled to make waves in mainstream western markets. Wonder Girls toured with the Jonas Brothers in 2009 and their English version of “Nobody” made a small splash on the charts, but the group’s follow-up collaboration with Akon, “Like Money,” fell flat and put an abrupt halt to their English language album. Even Young’s group, Girls’ Generation, tried an English version of their song “The Boys” that failed to make an impact. Until BTS’ recent breakthrough, Psy and his “Gangnam Style”—for better or worse—was the name most often associated with the genre.

But Young’s background is different—and may just be the thing to help her break through. Born and raised in California, the singer was first scouted as a teenager after singing Mariah Carey’s “Hero” and Christina Aguilera’s “The Voice Within” at an audition in 2004. Having lost her mother when she was only 12, Young found comfort and release in singing ballads like Aguilera’s. “‘The Voice Within’ is very intimate in talking to your inner younger self,” Young explains. “It just really spoke to me in a way nothing else had. That’s when I realized music was definitely magical for me.”

SM Entertainment, one of K-pop’s biggest agencies, took notice of the young singer; at 15 years old, she moved to Seoul on her own. Away from her family in a new country, Young grew up fast. Navigating the business at a young age, she learned to be assertive and make her own decisions. “There were parent meetings, so I’d be the one in there because my family’s all here [in America],” Young says. “The whole time in Korea really helped me become independent and have opinions.”

She wasn’t entirely alone, though: Her Girls’ Generation bandmates shared in the growing pains. “I found family in the girls,” she says. “We really kind of grew into each other and taught each other a lot of things.”

Young was 17 when Girls’ Generation debuted with the song “Into the New World.” The lyrics spoke of forging a new path together, with lines like, “Don’t wait for a special miracle. There’s a rough road in front of us. With unknowable future and obstacles, I won’t change, I can’t give up.”

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“That was the truth of what we were thinking about at the time,” Young says. “We’re going to get together, and we’re going to change the world. We can create our own world.” At the time, according to Young, the group members were all ages 16 to 18 and didn’t think too deeply into the song’s message. Yet it’s stood the test of time; a decade since its release, “Into the New World” has gotten a new life as an anthem for change in Seoul Pride celebrations and political protests.

Then, at 22 years old, Young started a sub-group of Girls’ Generation with fellow members Taeyeon Kim and Seohyun (Juhyun Seo). In the debut song “Twinkle”—a funky, brassy track about not letting anything dull your shine—the trio were able to showcase more of their vocals and personal styles. “At this point, everyone was like, ‘What are they going to come out with? They’ve done so much,'” Young says. “But we were still in this place where we still have so much to show you.”

In 2016, Young released her first Korean solo EP, I Just Wanna Dance. The album’s synth-pop title track is a euphoric club anthem about dancing all night like the world’s your stage. You can just picture Britney Spears and Ariana Grande high-fiving Young, telling her to take it from here.

A year later, as Young reached a milestone decade with Girls’ Generation, she decided not to renew her contract with SM Entertainment. “It was a natural, organic, gradual pivot,” Young tells us. “I had always gotten demos [for Girls’ Generation] in English, and I’d sing it in both languages all the time. It almost became so natural that even the fans, my bandmates, and my former label were like, ‘Tiffany needs to sing in English.’”

Still, Young wanted to celebrate the Girls’ Generation anniversary to the fullest with the release of the group’s song “Holiday.” It was especially important for her to take the anniversary in fully, because so many moments in the past 10 years had been overlooked. “It didn’t hit us until now,” Young says. “We’re looking back at all these things like, we were so young. Time passed by so fast.”

Since their 2007 debut, Girls’ Generation has released nine studio albums, four EPs, and 28 singles. In 2013, the group won Video of the Year at the YouTube Music Awards for their video “I Got a Boy.” They’re one of K-pop’s longest-running groups, with no signs of slowing down. (Even without Young on board.) Last year’s anniversary album Holiday Night went straight to the top of the World Albums chart. The group even made it into Guinness World Records 2018 for Most Awards Won after winning 13 at the Melon Music Awards.

Now, Young finds herself back in California ready to embark on her solo career. For many K-pop stars, the end of a group contract leads to a solo career, acting, or hosting TV shows in Korea. Young, however, wanted to take her dream to the U.S., despite the risks involved. “Once I was here, even when there was a lot of self doubt, it was like, “Come on. You wanted this your whole life,” she says.

An added bonus: She was finally able to share her work on an intimate level with her family, whom she had only seen about twice a year for an hour before concerts. “They were like, ‘So this is what you’ve been doing your whole life?’ And it really hit me: They’ve never seen me on set,” she says. “They’ve only seen the final product. I felt so supported that I had family on the set of my music video.”

Now settling into her new life in Los Angeles, Young is studying acting while she works on new music. She envisions herself starring in movies that blend music and film, like Moulin Rouge. (“It’s that universal story of wanting to be loved and loving someone in return,” she says.) She’s been on castings and auditions, but Young’s taking it slow for now. The same goes for music. She’d rather run with inspiration as it comes, releasing stand-alone singles before committing to a full album.

That said, she has an idea of what she wants to do. For her English-language solo debut, “Over My Skin,” Young wanted a fun summer song about being comfortable and confident. Lyrics like, “‘Cause I like it when you touch me / Do nasty things and you don’t judge me / You got that something that undoes me,” dance over a sound that blends her bright, K-pop roots with early 2000s pop. (Young felt inspired after attending a recent Justin Timberlake concert.)

The result? A sexy, unapologetic track that she hopes inspires listeners to own who they are and what they want. “Coming from celebrating a decade of being in a girl group, I wanted to celebrate what it is to be a woman in this time and age,” she says.

That also translated to the song’s cover photo, above, in which she opted for a stripped-down look. It’s a departure from the typically glossy production of K-pop and sends the message that for her solo, California-based work, Young is presenting herself as is. No heavy makeup, no flashy wardrobe, no elaborate sets. The video shows all the obstacles she’s met as an artist juxtaposed with herself performing confidently, triumphantly on stage.

“This music video reflects situations where I’ve had to overcome my insecurities as a performer, shut out any fears or short comings, and feel good in my own skin,” she says. “For me, it’s about self love, self acceptance, and growing.”

In other words, this new chapter of her career honors both her roots and who she is now. In fact, the name Tiffany Young brings those two parts of herself together. (She was born Stephanie Hwang, Korean name Miyoung Hwang, but in Girls’ Generation she went by Tiffany.) She chose Young because in Chinese characters it stands for forever.

“When people hear Young, it’s like, OK, she’s trying to stay young? But there’s a deeper meaning,” she says. “I forever want to be embracing where I come from and what I’ve done and who I am.”

That includes being an artist who hopes to give back to her fans for following her through this journey. “I’m thankful for the trust that we have right now,” she says. “I hope to be an artist for them that opens their hearts and their minds, makes them feel happy and understood.”

Blanca Méndez is a music writer who’s written for Rolling Stone, SPIN, and Noisey.

Photos: Transparent Agency, Getty Images





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The Tao of Tiffany Haddish: ‘If They're Not Talking About You, Then You're Not Doing Your Job’


At the back of Blue Smoke, an upscale New York City barbecue restaurant, a quiet table on the edge of the dining room becomes a safe haven. At almost six o’clock on the dot, Tiffany Haddish makes a beeline for our two-top like it’s a bunker. Her bodyguard, Tyrone, trails behind. She’s casual in jeans and a purple tie-dyed tee that reads, “Abracadabra.” We shake hands. She’s a bit flustered.

On the way here, she tells me, she was mobbed by a group of fans who began yelling her name at the top of their lungs. In a bit of #BlackGirlMagic, she quickly made them part of a joke. “I was like, ‘You gon’ blow up the spot like that?’ ” she says. “Then I start saying, ‘That’s my accountant, that’s my business manager,’ ” picking people out of the crowd and assigning them jobs in her imaginary entourage. With the fans properly confused, she and Tyrone were able to extract themselves from the situation. Abracadabra.

Ever since she was a girl, Haddish, now 38, has taken a line in the 1988 comedy Who Framed Roger Rabbit to heart: “A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Sometimes it’s the only weapon we have in life.” It’s an ethos that has served her well. Born in Los Angeles to an African American mother and a Jewish Eritrean refugee father, she was introduced to chaos at a young age. Her dad left when she was three, and her mother, who remarried and had four more children, suffered brain damage in a car accident when Haddish was eight. The injury, Haddish says, triggered her mother’s mental illness and abusive behavior. (“Because of her, I can take a punch like nobody’s business,” she wrote in her 2017 memoir, The Last Black Unicorn.) A few years after the accident, Haddish and her siblings entered the foster care system. When she was 15, a social worker gave her two options: undergo psychiatric therapy or attend the Laugh Factory Comedy Camp. She chose the latter.

There she was mentored by the likes of Richard Pryor, Charles Fleischer (the voice of Roger Rabbit), and Chris Spencer, and began building her name on the stand-up circuit. By the mid-aughts she’d nabbed appearances in TV movies and sitcoms like That’s So Raven and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. She parlayed those bit parts into recurring roles on Real Husbands of Hollywood and If Loving You Is Wrong, a Tyler Perry–produced drama for the OWN network. Although she had a small part in Jordan Peele’s 2016 comedy Keanu, it wasn’t until her breakout role in the 2017 smash hit Girls Trip that audiences really took notice. With an all-black female cast, the film brought in more than $100 million. And Haddish’s portrayal of outrageous sidekick Dina turned her into America’s foul-mouthed sweetheart overnight.

Diane von Furstenberg jacket, $998, culottes, $298. A.L.C. turtleneck, $365. Dinosaur Designs hoops, $125. Lacoste gloves, $98.

Suddenly Tiffany Haddish’s name was in lights everywhere. In this month’s Night School, she plays a hard-nosed teacher opposite a diploma-seeking Kevin Hart. The role, she says, was a natural fit. “I don’t mind being a teacher. I always say, ‘If this comedy thing doesn’t work out, I would probably be a sex education teacher,’” she jokes. “I would be the best sex education teacher. I guarantee none of my kids would have STDs after I finish teaching them.” Next up is the comedy Nobody’s Fool, which reunites her with the box-office-dominating Perry. “I worked with Tyler way back in the day and he would barely talk to me. I was, like, number eight on the call sheet. I was low on the totem pole,” she says. “Now I’m number, like, three on the call sheet. It’s a whole other ballpark.”

This new, top-of-the-call-sheet position is something she’s been envisioning. “My opportunities are whatever I create,” Haddish says. “My thoughts from two years ago is what’s happening right now. I really think my thoughts are my magic wand.” And her best friend of 20 years, Richea Jones, confirms that Haddish has always been able to predict her own future. “One day we were coming home from a club, and Tiffany and I sat in my car talking about our dreams,” she tells me. “She was like, ‘I’m going to meet Oprah and I’m going to make her collard greens.’ I’m like, ‘Girl, you’re going to make collard greens for Oprah? OK, we’re going to dream.’ But it really happened, and even bigger, because she made collard greens with Oprah on The Ellen DeGeneres Show [earlier this year], and the whole world got to see it.”

“I didn’t confirm shit. The reporter was like, ‘Sanaa Lathan?’ I’m, like, three drinks in, so of course I was about to laugh.”

Part of that visibility is because Haddish never stops hustling. Her appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, where she detailed a flirtatious encounter with Leonardo DiCaprio, quickly racked up a million views. And then there’s the whole “Who bit Beyoncé?” drama, a bit of tabloid fluff she keeps poking and resurfacing through a variety of confessions. I ask whether going viral is always top-of-mind. “What is that expression?” she says. “‘If they’re not talking, then you’re not doing your job.’” (And was she really pointing the finger at Sanaa Lathan in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter? “I didn’t confirm shit. The reporter was like, ‘Sanaa Lathan?’ I’m, like, three drinks in, so of course I was about to laugh,” she says. “They thought I put her name out there, but I didn’t. I never said nothing. And Beyoncé didn’t say nothing. Let the person who [bit Beyoncé] bury themselves…. I ain’t trying to destroy this girl. I didn’t say shit about the girl.”)

Haddish may know how to keep people talking, but she has also honed her internal moral compass over the years. While hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards, where she sported a prosthetic belly during a Cardi B impression and roasted the famous attendees, she drew the line at anything cruel. “Some of the jokes, I was like, ‘I’m not saying that,’ ” she says. “First off, I’m not a slut bucket. Second off, that’s just rude. That’s not even funny. That’s being a bully. And I am not that person, so I’m not about to put that out there. They didn’t do anything to me, so why would I attack them?” (A joke about the Kardashians being like Star Wars—“They make a ton of money, a new one’s always popping up, and they’re ruled by a bossy overlord”—was her favorite, she says, because Kris Jenner laughed.) Audiences loved it all: Haddish, the show’s first ever black female emcee, boosted ratings 21 percent.

Valentino cape. Studio Uribe ring, $199. Oscar de la Renta dress. Wolford tights, $67. Zimmermann boots.

By Malene Birger coat, $740. Tory Burch dress, $1,298. Jennifer Fisher earrings, $325.

Cinq à Sept jacket, dress, $495. ASOS Design sweater, $56. Annie Costello Brown earrings, $363. Tory Burch ring, $148. Wolford tights, $67. Giuseppe Zanotti boots.

She’s also loyal to the ones who brought her. When we talk about Tyler Perry and the criticism that his films perpetuate black stereotypes, Haddish gets visibly upset. “I just think that a person is ignorant when they say, ‘Oh, you’re being a stereotypical black person.’ Well, what’s that? Explain that to me, because that’s an actual person, and everybody deserves to see themselves onscreen,” she says. “I feel like all facets deserve to be seen—from the doctors to the janitors to the baby mamas to the side chicks.” And she’s committed to playing women who look and talk just like her. “It’s funny because people are like, ‘Oh, Tiffany Haddish is ratchet.’ No, I’m your typical chick from the hood. And as ratchet as I might talk, or people might think I carry myself, I am making a living portraying myself.”

Being this self-aware is key to how Haddish navigates her career. She hopes to work with Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino one day. Though she hasn’t heard that Uma Thurman felt pressured by the Kill Bill director to perform a stunt she feared was unsafe, when I fill her in on the details, Haddish doesn’t waver. “I know how to handle people like that,” she says. “I don’t know Tarantino personally, but I would have to meet him and see if we vibe. If I felt comfortable, I would go for it. If I didn’t feel comfortable, no.” She has also known men who gleefully wield their power in insidious ways. “I’ve had experiences where directors or producers are like, ‘You want this job?’ ” she says, her voice dripping with innuendo. “I might get real bossy and say, ‘First off, don’t nobody want to see your little dick!’ I get loud, all that.”

Haddish has had to develop these defense mechanisms the hard way. First, there was the life-altering episode when, she says, a police cadet raped her at 17 years old. “That whole experience put me in such a messed-up place for a long time, and I ended up going to counseling,” she tells me, her voice breaking. She says she reported the incident at the time but still grapples with what justice would look like for her. “Me just yelling out people’s names with no thought behind it is pointless. I need a plan,” she says. “I could be a voice, but what’s a voice going to do—just keep talking? Or is there action behind it?” Until she sorts that out, the armor is staying put. “I notice that men are afraid of women that are aggressive. So to protect myself I become semi-aggressive,” she says. “You hear about, ‘Tiffany always hitting on somebody,’ but that’s to keep them from hitting on me.” And in 2013 she divorced William Stewart amid allegations he physically abused her. (Stewart has denied the claims.) When I ask whether she’s actively dating, she demurs. “I don’t really have time. And I’ve had enough somebodies,” she says. “I done ran through 38 dudes, OK? Body count, yeah. Mine is 38. Write it down. Let them know. I’ve had 38 experiences.”

“If [The Rock] can make $65 million, I can make $65 million.”

For now, she’s keeping her sights set on building her empire. Recently Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been her inspiration. “I’ve been studying him a lot on YouTube and stuff. I’m like, If he can make $65 million, I can make $65 million too,” she says. “I want to get on that Forbes magazine, not for the money, but to be an example to other foster youths that it don’t matter how low from the bottom you are, you can always rise to the top if you believe in yourself.”

Gucci dress. Emporio Armani boots, $825.

In addition to serving as a role model for underprivileged youth (she’s considering fostering kids herself and often encourages fans to bring suitcases to her shows, which she donates to foster children), Haddish plans to continue supporting her family. “I’m just glad I got some money now, because now I can do a better job at taking care of them,” she says. “I got my mom out of the mental institution, like I said I would, in December, and I got her an apartment with my sister and a nurse that comes to her.” She also hopes to provide her siblings with financial security. “I ain’t never said this out loud, but I want to be able to give every one of my siblings a million dollars to create whatever they want to do,” she says. “That’s four million dollars that I don’t need.”

The check comes and Haddish drains her espresso. Brimming with caffeine, or perhaps her own brand of abracadabra, she flashes a winning smile. “I try my best not to be talking shit about nobody, because I want good things to stick to me,” she says. “Believing in myself is what got me to where I’m at. And when you do that, it comes right back.”

Niela Orr is a writer and editor based in Philadelphia.
Hair: Oscar James at Ken Barboza & Associates; makeup: Dionne Wynn at iTalent; manicure: Gina Edwards at Kate Ryan Inc.; set design: Bette Adams at MHS Artists; production: Hudson Hill Production. For Haddish’s look, try OGX Smoothing + Shea Sleek Smooth Style Spray ($9, drugstores) and Gucci Opulent Volume Mascara in Iconic Black ($33, gucci.com).



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Tiffany Haddish on Her Best Groupon Purchase: 'I Don't Need a Man When I Got This'


During last year’s Super Bowl, Girls Trip breakout star Tiffany Haddish was at a friend’s house getting, as she says, “wasted.” It’s safe to say this year will be a bit of an upgrade considering she’s starring as Groupon’s new spokesperson in their Super Bowl commercial. Even better: She’s actually attending the big game in Minneapolis. “I want to cry just thinking about how good [it’s all been],” Haddish tells us. “If you believe in yourself enough and put in the work, good things will happen.”

And good things are indeed happening for Haddish. When she’s not taking selfies with Beyoncé or getting jewelry from Ellen DeGeneres (yep, read about that below), she’s turning her biggest passion—saving money—into a side career. As one of Groupon’s top customers (she’s in the 1% of users), the worldwide e-commerce marketplace took note of her obsession after her Jimmy Kimmel Live! segment talking about the brand went viral. So before the big day, Haddish called us up to talk about all that and (way) more.

First, we have to talk about Groupon and the Super Bowl commercial. Do you remember your first Groupon purchase?

Tiffany: I want to say my very first Groupon purchase was to a pole dancing class. We were going to a Bachelorette party and wanted to take a pole dancing class, so everybody had to get this Groupon for like $15. I believe that was the first…no, wait, wait, wait, hold up. It might have been a necklace. [Laughs]

We just went from pole dancing to a necklace. [Laughs] That’s great.

Tiffany: Girl, the best thing I ever bought on Groupon was a bidet! [Laughs] Yeah, girl! They sell bidets on there, and that has been the best thing I’ve ever bought off of there. I don’t need no man when I got a bidet, you know what I’m saying? You’re always so fresh and so clean! I got mine for like $298, and it was the best one on there at the time. They probably have some even better ones now, and they have some really cheap ones too, but it’s really the best.

What was your your reaction when you found out Groupon wanted you to represent them in such a big way?

Tiffany: They called my agent, and when my agent told me, I was like, “Yeah!” I was doing the Nay Nay for five minutes, I was so happy. When they said I was going to do the Super Bowl commercial, I was like, “What?! OK!” And then I started thinking about all these ideas, and they were like, “Well, we already have some stuff planned out, so save that for later.” I was like, “OK, cool.” Their ideas were way better than mine. I only thought of mine in like four minutes. They obviously spent time on theirs.

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You’ve joked in the past that people think you’re making huge amounts of money now, but you’re like, “I’m glad you know my name now, but I’m still not making the big bucks.” Do you feel like you’re financially comfortable now, at least?

Tiffany: I’m definitely comfortable. I’ve been comfortable for a long time, because I spend money like I don’t have any money. That’s how I got into Groupon, and that’s how I’m going to be a multi-billionaire. I’m always living like I still have the Geo Metro, you know? I drive a Honda now. I’m not going bananas. I’m waiting until Tesla is ready to sponsor me and give me a car. [Laughs] If I talk about it enough, it will come!

I saw on Ellen that she gave you a Tesla rental for a week and a cardboard cutout of Oprah was in the back.

Tiffany: But they wouldn’t let me drive it off the [Warner Bros. lot]. They’re like, “Whenever you’re here for a whole week, you just give us a call and you can drive it,” and I was like, ‘Oh, man!’ But then the next day, Ellen sent a diamond necklace to my house, and it’s so beautiful. I was like, “Well, that makes up for everything.” She said she thought it would be inappropriate to give it to me on the air, so she gave me a necklace off air. I’m waiting for a fancy event to go to where I have to drive myself and then I’ll be like, “I’m ready for the Tesla because I have this fancy event and this fancy event and that fancy event, and I want to pull up in the Tesla.”

Can you even sum up what this last year has been like for you? Can you even put it into words what it has all meant?

Tiffany: To me, it’s like, you know something is going to happen, you just don’t know how it’s going to happen. I’ve kind of known this, and I’ve talked about it so much, but for it all to be manifesting now is the perfect timing. If this had happened in my 20s, I would have been a freaking mess. [Laughs] Now it’s just so perfect. I’m just so grateful. I’m not a perfect person, I’m going to make a lot of mistakes, but I’m just so happy. I just came back from Africa, and this is the first time in my whole life where I felt like a complete person. I want to cry just thinking about how good it…like, if you believe in yourself enough and put in the work and the main thing you have to do is really love and appreciate yourself.

It’s funny because one of my favorite quotes is from Oprah and she said, “You don’t get what you hope for, you don’t get what you wish for, you get what you believe.” I mean, how often do we wish for something or hope for something? But to believe it is an entirely different concept.

Tiffany: Yes!

And that’s why you and Oprah need to be BFFs.

Tiffany: I know, we need to be BFFs. I want to garden with her a few times. Come on, Oprah! Let’s grow some tomatoes!

Hey, maybe she’ll make you her VP if she runs for President in 2020. You never know.

Tiffany: Oh man, I don’t know if I want that kind of responsibility. That’s one thing I don’t believe. [Laughs]

I hear you on that. Do you ever worry, though, that the more success that comes your way, it’ll be harder to relate to the everyday things?

Tiffany: No, that never crosses my mind. Because I’m a human being. I take poops, too. [Laughs]

So now that you have been in this industry for a while and gotten a taste of fame over the last year, is there anything that surprises you?

Tiffany: You know, things that surprise me are when people want to meet me. That’s the thing that surprises me. Or when they say they want to work with me. It’s mind-blogging. Billy Crystal wants to work with me…I mean, what? Kate Hudson wants to work with me, and she’s invited me to her house. Are you serious? When I met Billy Crystal, it took everything in my power now to fan girl out because I’ve watched every one of his movies and studied him. I said, “Who knows, maybe one day I’ll get to host the Oscars and we can do it together!” Because I think he’s the best Oscar host of all time. He and Whoopi would pass me the torch, like, “Handle it, Tiffany.” [Starts screaming.] I believe that! I believe that.

What were you doing last Super Bowl, and what are you going to be doing this Sunday?

Tiffany: Last Super Bowl I was at my friend’s house getting pretty wasted, laughing at all the commercials. This Super Bowl, I’m actually going to go to the game, and this will be like the third time I’ve ever gone to a professional football game. It will be my very first Super Bowl I’ve ever attended, so I’m really excited.

What are you going to wear?

Tiffany: Well, I’m going to wear a big jacket that I got off of Groupon and some gloves that I got on Groupon because it’s going to be cold, and maybe my snow boots I got off of Groupon, too.

You should. Well, Tiffany, you’ve made my day and I can’t wait till you go gardening with Oprah. I believe it’s going to happen.

Tiffany: Oh yes, and I’m going to be crying like a baby and probably will roll around in her dirt.

Well, I’m going to go on Groupon and look into buying a bidet. If I could only buy a man on Groupon.

Tiffany: You know, Groupon had speed dating six or seven months ago, so hopefully they bring that back. Hey, they even have an adult section with the really good grown-up toys, you know the ones that are normally like $200-$300, and they’re like $99. You’ll get an incredible price!



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Beyoncé Once Talked Tiffany Haddish Out of a Fight


Girls Trip‘s Tiffany Haddish has had an amazing year. She was the breakout star of a hit summer comedy, announced the Academy Award nominations, signed a deal with HBO, will appear in a Super Bowl ad, and is in talks to work with director Paul Thomas Anderson. But nothing can top the fact that she met the Queen herself, Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter, at a party and got a selfie with Her Majesty—all in the name of world peace.

Take a look:

Speaking to Vulture about her amazing ride, she told as much as she could about how she ended up getting the picture, and the wisdom Bey shared with her. “Okay, so what had happened was, something had went down with somebody at the party, right? I’m not at liberty to say what had went down at the party, but Beyoncé was just telling me to have a good time, and I was like, ‘No, I’m gonna end up fighting this bitch!’ She was like, ‘No, have fun, Tiffany,’ and I said, ‘I’m only going to have fun if you take a selfie with me,'” Haddish said.

“[Beyoncé] said, ‘Okay,’ and then she buried her face in my wig. We took the picture and I was like, ‘Is my wig slipping?’ And she was like, ‘Mmm-hmm.’ But she knew who I was! She came up to me and was like, ‘I think you are so funny, Tiffany Haddish.’ I was like, ‘What? You know me?!’ She said, ‘I’m Beyoncé.’ ‘I KNOW!'”

Okay, now we really need to know who Tiffany was about to fight. Another comedian? Another actress? Someone who said Beyoncé was overrated? Because if that’s the case, honestly, sometimes you just have to take it outside.

Related: Tiffany Haddish Just Called Out Sexual Harassment in Comedy



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Tiffany Haddish Lands Groupon Deal


Today, Groupon released its Super Bowl commercial starring Tiffany Haddish as their new spokesperson. Initially, this may not seem like a huge deal to you, but trust me, it is to Tiffany. The Girls Trip star has had an extensive history of brand loyalty with the money-saving website, including appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live to recount a hilarious experience with a swamp tour deal she bought on Groupon. Well, they say everything happens for a reason, and today, Groupon is wearing Haddish’s brand loyalty on their sleeve. In the ad for the Big Game, the actress looks us dead in the eye and caustically asks, “What kind of person wouldn’t want to support local business?” Tiffany definitely isn’t that kind of person, and the brand bragged on their website that she’s a “verified super user” in the top 1 percent of Groupon Customers. Personally, I’m impressed. Here’s how Tiffany landed this major deal.

Tiffany and Groupon’s love affair started in 2013 when she signed up for its service. In July of last year, the writer and comedian appeared on Kimmel to promote Girls Trip, the outrageously funny movie that launched her career. On the show, Haddish told the host a story in which she duped Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith into accompanying her on a Groupon swamp tour. In the spectacular clip, which I highly recommend watching in full, Haddish recounts that Jada asked her to hang out on one of their days off while filming Girls Trip in New Orleans. Tiffany, who played Dina in the film, had already bought a discounted Groupon ticket for a swamp tour of the New Orleans everglades. Jada, who has been lost in the mystical land of Being Rich for decades, completely misunderstood Haddish. Not only had Jada never heard of Groupon, but she mistakenly thought that Haddish suggested they take a group on a swamp tour—like on a private boat. Ultimately, Will and Jada ended up on a Groupon swamp tour with hoards of tourists freaking out and seeking selfies on a crowded airboat.

Haddish’s story was so wild that the YouTube clip quickly went viral. Eventually, Groupon took notice. On January 15, it was announced that Tiffany Haddish would be starring in a series of Groupon ads, one of which will air during the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. This is a big deal for the brand too, as it hasn’t aired a Super Bowl commercial in seven years.

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So, did she manifest all this, or does Tiffany actually have a cunning and prolific business mind? My bet is on the latter: In her official announcement of the brand partnership, she insisted, “Nobody knows Groupon like I know Groupon,” and in a second promotional video, the actress added, “I should have already been their spokesperson. I’ve invested lots of money into buying Groupon deals, and it’s about time I got an even bigger return on my investment.” I see you, Tiffany. I see you.

The first ad that starred Tiffany as the official spokesperson aired last Sunday, and featured a relaxed and smug Haddish getting pampered, tapping away at new deals on her phone and quipping, “Bout to get wrapped in mud next.”

I’ll watch the always-hilarious Tiffany Haddish do anything. If the commercial just showed 30 seconds of silence and Tiffany getting prodded with mud, I’d still be down. It’s incredible to see Tiffany finally getting what she deserves and being embraced by fans—both socially and financially. Plus, it’s phenomenal to see a woman of color as the face of this massive brand (and a Super Bowl commercial, nonetheless). Tiffany has been breaking down barriers since she burst into Hollywood last year, and she shows no signs of slowing. In November of 2017, she became the first black female stand-up comic to host Saturday Night Live. Now, she’s shrewdly reaping the benefits of brand loyalty.

If you want a piece of the pie—and a stellar example of cross-promotional marketing—there’s a 12 percent-off Groupon deal on Tiffany’s first book, The Last Black Unicorn. Do the right thing.





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Tiffany Haddish Just Called Out Sexual Harassment in Comedy


Tiffany Haddish is having a great run lately: Girls Trip, brilliantly hosting SNL, gearing up for a national standup tour, publishing a memoir. But it hasn’t been a totally smooth journey to get to where she is now. In her new book, The Last Black Unicorn, she opens up about obstacles she faced in a chapter about sexual harassment in the comedy world. It’s a timely excerpt, given the dominant cultural conversation around sexual misconduct, harassment, and assault in the entertainment industry that’s taken down a few former power players recently. However, it must be noted that this is a conversation that’s disproportionally stemmed from the experiences of white women, even though black women, like Anita Hill and #MeToo founder Tarana Burke, have often—and thanklessly—been at the forefront of the movement.

Haddish’s new memoir details her experience trying to make it in the male-dominated world of comedy. Unsurprisingly, there was a hell of a lot of harassment that went on.

“I can’t tell you how many promoters tried to tell me that to get on stage, I had to get on my back,” Haddish wrote, according to People. Her reply? Always “Hell no!”

In a conversation with People about her memoir—and about being a woman in the comedy world—Haddish revealed, “It seemed like everybody wanted to get in my panties. It was constant defending and battling. These men will try you every single time.”

More troubling? Things still haven’t gotten much better. “It’s like hazing,” she added. “Once they figure out you’re strong and you don’t roll like that, then they start treating you like a colleague.”

It’s just yet another example of the sexism and harassment that women face across all industries. Here’s to hoping that dudes in comedy realize sooner rather than later that all of their colleagues—yes, female colleagues are colleagues too!—deserve to be treated with respect and decency. And hazing is never OK.

Related Stories:
–#MeToo Founder Tarana Burke on What Needs to Happen After the Hashtag
–Tiffany Haddish Just Made ‘Saturday Night Live’ History—But It’s Long Overdue
–Why We Still Need Anita Hill



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