American stand-up comedian and actress Tiffany Haddish has defended herself after the backlash she received over a video of her expressing surprise at a grocery store in Zimbabwe which caused a stir on social media.
Haddish had posted a video on TikTok of her walking around a grocery store in Harare, Zimbabwe, giving a tour while expressing shock at every item in the store.
She also mispronounced simple English words, like “elegance”, which was written on a product. She was also shocked that the store didn't smell bad.
“Hey all, I'm out here in Zimbabwe, Harare, and look at the grocery store” she said, with a surprised expression. “They have a grocery store. It's beautiful. Look at this grocery store; it's huge. It's absolutely humongous, in Africa, baby, yeah. Believe it, it doesn't smell bad. They have a meat section, they have sodas, they have a lot of alcohol, and they have a freezer section.
“Unlike the grocery store at home, they sell dishes. They have a hardware section too, along with appliances, stationery, sweets, toys, cookies, hygiene products, Vaseline, bubble bath, mouthwash, toothpaste, paper towels, toilet paper, dog food and cat food. Who knew they had the YOU tabloid magazine? They even have the 'Caution: Wet Floor' sign,” Haddish said.
Tiffany Haddish defends herself after stir over Zimbabwe grocery store video
'I have heard crazy stories about how they kill each other and that there is war every day there.'
Journalist
Image: supplied
American stand-up comedian and actress Tiffany Haddish has defended herself after the backlash she received over a video of her expressing surprise at a grocery store in Zimbabwe which caused a stir on social media.
Haddish had posted a video on TikTok of her walking around a grocery store in Harare, Zimbabwe, giving a tour while expressing shock at every item in the store.
She also mispronounced simple English words, like “elegance”, which was written on a product. She was also shocked that the store didn't smell bad.
“Hey all, I'm out here in Zimbabwe, Harare, and look at the grocery store” she said, with a surprised expression. “They have a grocery store. It's beautiful. Look at this grocery store; it's huge. It's absolutely humongous, in Africa, baby, yeah. Believe it, it doesn't smell bad. They have a meat section, they have sodas, they have a lot of alcohol, and they have a freezer section.
“Unlike the grocery store at home, they sell dishes. They have a hardware section too, along with appliances, stationery, sweets, toys, cookies, hygiene products, Vaseline, bubble bath, mouthwash, toothpaste, paper towels, toilet paper, dog food and cat food. Who knew they had the YOU tabloid magazine? They even have the 'Caution: Wet Floor' sign,” Haddish said.
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Her video has been met with criticism from Africans. Some argued that she should educate herself about Africa, others asked if she thought people in Africa ate grass.
Defending herself, Haddish said the American media portrayed Africa as a place with no modern facilities, leading her to believe that people shop at outdoor markets.
“The media had me thinking all of your food is purchased in outdoor markets with goats and cows just hanging out to be slaughtered, with all kinds of smells and flies everywhere.
“I am an American, a black one at that, and I have been told for years that people are starving in Africa, shown pictures of babies with flies on them. I have heard crazy stories about how they kill each other and that there is war every day there. I asked my black friends to go with me and they were scared. We got here and I have been filled with tears finding out the truth. The media is lying. I thought I would share because I know people in the USA who believe Africans don’t have anything,” she said.
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