The only thing that could make my trip to New York City for the Whoopi Goldberg book signing better was doubling my divas and swinging by Tiffany Haddish’s signing of her new book “I Curse You With Joy” at the Barnes & Noble Union Square afterwards. Tiffany was in coversation with Charlamagne Tha God (Who’s that? I think he’s a New York radio host or something, but Tiffany probably wanted him around for something pretty to look at) before signing and placing a “Parental Advisory Explicit Content” sticker inside each book and posing for pics. She was of course funny, but she was also kind and caring, which piqued my interest even more.
I became a Tiffany Haddish fan after seeing the movie “Girls Trip”. I went to the theater because of Queen Latifah but after Tiffany’s grapefruit scene (if you haven’t seen the move, that scene alone is worth the price of admission), I had a new queen. This is Tiffany’s third book and since I enjoyed “I Curse You With Joy”, I’m going to check out her first autobiography “The Last Black Unicorn” but I’ll pass on her children’s book, “Layla, The Last Black Unicorn”.
“I Curse You With Joy” has some laugh out loud moments and I have definitely learned more about my vagina than I ever thought I would. You know, like when your guy’s member is more like an entire boy band and it tilts your whole uterus…damn I hate when that happens, it can ruin my whole day. However, the majority of the book is about the struggles Tiffany overcame growing up poor, with a mom who suffered a serious car crash that altered her personality, and how she grinded her way up the ranks of the comedy club circuit. She’s also one of the more down to Earth celebrities, choosing to live in and support the community she grew up in, South Central Los Angeles, instead of up in the Hollywood hills in a mansion.
In my gay opinion, the highlights of the book are when she spills the tea about hosting Saturday Night Live (Tiffany totally deserved to host in 2017, but SNL has been on the air since the 70’s and knowing they didn’t have a black female comic host until then is mind blowing) and her negotiations with Netflix for her own special where instead of pocketing extra cash for herself, she chose to be badass and get production rights to do a second special to help bring visibility to six BIPOC and QUILTBAG comics of her choosing. “I Curse You With Joy” had solidified me as a Tiffany Haddish fan.
On my bucket list now is seeing Tiffany do standup and/or seeing her in concert. At the signing she mentioned working on some music. This is the year my divas are switching from acting to singing so I’ll have to be on the lookout for Tiffany’s album when it drops. Maybe I’ll catch her at an album signing next.
