Tiffany Haddish Says Keeping it Real is Way Easier Than Being Fake

As one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2018 and the first Black woman to host Saturday Night Live, Emmy and GRAMMY-award winner Tiffany Haddish has a lot to be proud of. She’s in a new movie, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, has a new children’s book Layla, the Last Black Unicorn, and she’s preparing to launch her music career. The girl who was placed in foster care at age 13, struggled through high school at a second-grade reading level and lived out of her car while trying to make it as a stand-up comedian is clearly getting the last laugh.

The multi-talented actress and comedian recently graced the cover of Byrdie’s The Balance Issue and got real about everything from her interesting bath time rituals to why she works so damn hard to the pain she felt after the recent loss of her grandmother and beloved dog.

Byrdie’s gawesome (that’s gorgeous and awesome) spread showcases Haddish in three uniquely different looks, including a beautiful 70s-inspired ensemble, complete with beaded braids and a tiered one-shoulder Raisa Vanessa maxi dress. Makeup artist Kathy Jeung created stunning fresh-faced looks for the shoot.

In her candid interview with Byrdie, Haddish talks about how she’s made talking to her bath water a cleansing ritual that has helped her cope with everything from breakups to job losses. “I call it programming the water. I program the water to get me jobs. I program the water to bring me adventures. Whatever energy you put out, that’s what you get back,” she said.

If you think Haddish has a lot going on, it’s no accident. In the interview, she said she stays busy for her own good. “When I don’t have work to do, I get in trouble,” she said. But Haddish adds that she knows that when she’s working, other people have the opportunity to work too. “You’re putting food on somebody’s table by doing this,” she said. “Yeah, you’re working 15-hour days, but how many people are going to be able to feed their kids?”

In the middle of all of the good in her life, Haddish recently had to cope with the loss of her grandmother and her dog, something she says left her emotionally gutted. But she says she has relied on therapy to deal with her feelings. “The money that I was spending on my grandma I’m now spending on my mental health. I was already spending on my mental health before she passed, but now it’s like, ‘I need you all on call because I need to understand these emotions,’” she said.

But Haddish says that through all of her success, she continues to be her 100 percent authentic self. “It’s way easier than being fake. I tried to be fake,” she said. “When I was trying to be something I wasn’t, my soul was screaming at me. ‘What are we doing? This is not who we are. Stop it!’” she said.