American comedian Tiffany Haddish has addressed the issue around her TikTok video shot during her visit to a grocery in Zimbabwe. Haddish responded to the backlash over the video. Haddish said she wanted to dispel the myth that Africa is a continent gripped by perpetual strife.
As the camera pans across a well-stocked store in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital, Haddish can be seen clearly taken aback. I mean, just look at this supermarket,” she says. Among the many shelves stocked with fruits, soda, and frozen meat, I noticed something enormous: it was in Africa. With over 200,000 views on TikTok, the video has caused quite a stir, both in terms of conversation and criticism.
A lot of people, especially in Zimbabwe, reacted quickly and negatively on social media. “How ignorant could she be?,” one X (previously Twitter) user said in an angry outburst. Did she really believe that Africans buy gems from rocks? Her tragically colonized perspective on the world needs to be unobstructed by greater travel. “Oh my.” As another commenter put it, “They think we’re chasing lions and zebras,” bringing attention to the prejudice that certain Americans have towards Africa. The idea that Africans do not have access to contemporary conveniences like power and the internet was disputed by a third party.
In light of the criticism, Haddish went to X to clarify her position. She came clean about how her upbringing as a Black American had led her to believe a false narrative about Africa. According to Haddish, “I am an American, a Black one at that, and told for years that people are starving in Africa, showed pictures of babies with flies on them.” She went on to say that she had heard inflated accounts of Africans being violent and in the midst of perpetual conflict.
Haddish stressed that seeing the continent for what it really is in Zimbabwe had been a revelation. She spoke about her desire to speak up about her experiences since she feels many Americans hold false beliefs about Africa based on outmoded stereotypes. “I thought I would share cause I know people in the USA that believe Africans don’t have anything,” according to her.
Some people still stood behind Haddish, even though he was heavily criticized. “We aren’t in the forest hanging on trees,” read one encouraging social media post, “and all the products that shocked you are just basics here as well,” highlighting the everyday routine of contemporary conveniences in African nations.
In 2018, Tiffany Haddish, whose family hails from Eritrea, visited the country for the first time. Even though he was criticized for being a dictator, she lauded long-time ruler Isaias Afwerki on the trip.
The video by Haddish and the subsequent conversations about it bring attention to the pervasive prejudices and misconceptions about Africa, and how important it is to have personal experiences to refute them. We must not forget the many realities of living on the African continent, as her honest comments and the responses they provoked show.
