Tiffany Haddish's Grocery Safari: Comedian Defends Zimbabwe Supermarket Video After Social Media Stampede
(Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images for BET)
(Photo by Sean Berry/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
(Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images for BET)
In a plot twist straight out of a comedy sketch, American comedian Tiffany Haddish found herself in hot water after her TikTok tour of a Zimbabwean supermarket. Aiming to bust myths that Africa is all "war everyday," Haddish was amazed by the aisles of a Harare supermarket.
"Look at this grocery store. It's humongous, in Africa," she exclaimed, marveling at shelves packed with soft drinks, frozen meat, and fresh fruit.
The internet, however, wasn't buying it. "How ignorant could she be? Did she think Africans shop from rocks?" fumed one user on X. Another added, "They think we’re chasing lions and zebras."
A third chimed in, "Americans have this bizarre belief that we live in mud huts, without clean water, electricity, or the internet."
Haddish, not one to shy away from a showdown, hit back on X, explaining that she had grown up on a diet of false narratives about Africa. "I am an American, a Black one at that, and was told for years that people are starving in Africa, shown pictures of babies with flies on them."
Reflecting on her journey of discovery, she added, "I was told crazy stories about how Africans 'kill each other' and there's 'war everyday.' My trip to Zimbabwe opened my eyes, and I wanted to share the truth."
around her. "We like that you like our grocery store. All the products that shocked you are just basics here as well, we really aren’t in the forest hanging on trees," said one defender.
Haddish, who is half-Eritrean and visited Eritrea for the first time in 2018, has praised its long-time ruler, Isaias Afwerki, despite critics labeling him a "dictator."
In the end, Tiffany's supermarket sweep may have ruffled some feathers, but it certainly got people talking—and hopefully thinking—about the real Africa.