Tiffany Haddish’s Trick for Making Reporters Feel More at Ease Is Genius—& It Totally Worked on Me

Ever wonder what goes through a reporter's mind when they’re about to meet a major celebrity? For me, there are a ton of rapid-fire thoughts/questions, with every one fueled by adrenaline (and a lot of nerves). 

But at Tuesday night’s New York premiere for the new movie Like A Boss, star Tiffany Haddish magically made me feel super at ease. She entered our conversation/interview with something so bold that it made me feel like we were old friends. 

As I stood in the middle of the press line (patiently awaiting my turn to talk to the comedian), Haddish walked directly over to me. 

“I know you, right?” she asked me confidently. “We definitely met at the club.” Yep, those were the first words of my conversation with the Night School actress. No “Hello.” No “What publication are you with?” Just simply, we must already know each other. 

Of course, I was in shock. As much as I would have loved to have casually run into one of Hollywood’s most famous celebs at a club, that definitely was not the case. So, I revealed to her the unfortunate news, “I wish, but no, that wasn’t me.”

“Girl, are you sure?” she giggled. OK, it's possible she really thought she knew me, but I actually think something else was going on. I think she recognized that I was a new face...maybe she even picked up on my extreme nervous energy over this being my first red carpet. Whatever the case, her genius (and incredibly generous) intro completely put my anxiety to rest.

We then proceeded to have an awesome interview. She revealed to me all the details on her black Sergio Hudson dress which made her feel “incredibly sexy” and dished on the weekly potluck she held at her home with members of the cast like Rose Byrne and Salma Hayek. 

The 40-year-old actress even got real about her struggles and how she’s still not where she wants to be. 

“What’s been keeping me going and keeping me focused this long is that—you know I was homeless and living amongst other homeless people and they were still smiling, they were still happy,” she explained. “If you can find the joy and positivity in a situation that might be hard to deal with, where you feel like giving up. Right when you want to quit that’s when you should push a little bit harder.”

Tiffany, if you’re reading this, thank you for making me feel so comfortable (and for sharing your recipe for your favorite kale salad).