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Tiffany Haddish, Aries Spears call misconduct allegations 'bogus' and a 'shakedown'

Comedians Tiffany Haddish and Aries Spears have been accused of recruiting underage children for sexually suggestive skits. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
1 of 5 | Comedians Tiffany Haddish and Aries Spears have been accused of recruiting underage children for sexually suggestive skits. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

Sept. 2 (UPI) -- A new lawsuit has accused comedians Tiffany Haddish and Aries Spears of recruiting underage children for the purpose of filming sexually explicit comedy skits.

The lawsuit, first reported by The Daily Beast, was filed Monday in the Los Angeles Superior Court by siblings identified as John and Jane Doe, now 14 and 22, respectively, and detailed numerous allegations of sexual misconduct that had reportedly occurred years back.

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Through their attorneys, Haddish and Spears have denied all allegations.

A lawyer for Haddish told The Wrap that the siblings' mother "has been trying to assert these bogus claims against Ms. Haddish for several years."

"Every attorney who has initially taken on her case -- and there were several -- ultimately dropped the matter once it became clear that the claims were meritless...now, [the mother] has her adult daughter representing herself in this lawsuit. The two of them will together face the consequences of pursuing this frivolous action."

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An lawyer for Spears told NBC News that the comedian "isn't going to fall for any shakedown."

According to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by the Daily Beast, John and Jane Doe have alleged that Haddish first sought the children out after meeting them through their mother.

Eventually, according to the lawsuit, both John and Jane Doe, who were seven and 14 at the time, were reportedly subjected to separate incidents in which they were forced to take part in sexually charged skits written by Haddish and Spears.

The skit in which Jane Doe allegedly partook involved Haddish teaching her how to mimic oral sex, in which she was forced to act in a sexual manner.

"I tried to mimic what they wanted me to mimic, but it still came out just super uncomfortable," Jane told the Daily Beast. "I knew when I left the booth that I didn't complete what they wanted me to do."

The lawsuit reportedly said that the skit made Jane "physically, emotionally, and mentally uncomfortable."

In the case of John Doe's skit, he was allegedly recruited by Haddish to film a video with Spears for the children's network Nickelodeon.

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However, according to the lawsuit, the complainants claim that this skit was actually a video produced for the website FunnyOrDie.com, in which he was forced to act with Spears in a sketch dressed only in his underwear.

The lawsuit claims that the skit, titled "Through a Pedophile's Eyes," shot a number of scenes with the boy containing sexual imagery or innuendos, including a scene where Spears sprays oil onto John and watches him nude in a bathtub.

In a statement, FunnyOrDie.com said that it "found this video absolutely disgusting and would never produce such content. We were not involved with the conceptualization, development, funding, or production of this video. It was uploaded to the site as user-generated content and was removed in 2018 immediately after becoming aware of its existence."

The boy's mother reportedly did not learn until years later that the film had ever made its way online.

"The mother, upset, stated that she would have never let her son participate in a pedophile child pornography skit," the lawsuit alleged.

Both Jane and John Doe have reportedly suffered lasting mental and emotional trauma from the videos, according to the lawsuit.

Jane told the Daily Beast, "I don't date guys. I don't have sex. I'm not your regular 22-year-old who is partying, having fun and hooking up and stuff."

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She also said that her brother places Band-Aids over all of the cameras on his electronics out of fear of being watched.

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