Tiffany Haddish and Aida Rodriguez are two of the biggest attractions in comedy.
While Haddish soars as a go-to female comedic lead, Rodriguez amazes with her comedy, directing, and writing. In light of Haddish’s impending stand-up special, there is a natural interest in the two stars working together on a large scale.
Rodriguez, the author of Legitimate Kid, expressed her interest in directing a Tiffany Haddish stand-up special during the promotion of the Spanish version of her memoir. Upon being asked by journalist Bryson “Boom” Paul about their history and Haddish’s desire to shoot another special mentioned in previous interviews, Rodriguez responded:
“Sure. I don’t know if I’m famous enough for Tiffany now, but I definitely would. And I know because of how I feel about her, I would definitely show her in a beautiful light. Because to me, that was what it was about when I did the specials that I did with before, one with Ian Lara, who I think is an amazing talent, who felt like he wasn’t properly lit in other specials because he’s of a darker hue.”
“I think about those things. I work on those things. So I am sure that if I directed a Tiffany Haddish special, it would be fire because I have that much confidence in myself. And I’ve had communications with some bigger name comedians who’ve talked to me about directing their special. So I know that some great things are on the horizon.”
Tiffany Haddish released her debut stand-up special with Netflix in 2017 with Black Mitzvah. As her star power soared in film, her and Netflix released her follow-up stand-up special in 2019 with She Ready. Haddish has released three specials with the platform including a showcase featuring Aida Rodriguez.
In 2021, Rodriguez released her HBO Max debut stand-up special. Having made a stellar debut, she continued to shine behind the lens by directing two hit stand-up specials on HBO Max with rising comedians Ian Lara and Marcella Arguello. Rodriguez gained respect and directing requests from others as a result of his popularity.
“Feels good, it feels like respect,” she says. “I just saw Zarna in South by Southwest, and she was like, ‘Girl, what you did with Ian’s special was so beautiful,’ and the details that she gave that let me know that she wasn’t just capping. So it feels good. It feels good to be seen in the totality of my artistry, not just as a performer. And I will continue to do all of the things that I can to keep uplifting melanin in this game.”
In 2014, Aida visited Hot 97 as a guest with Max Amini on Cipher‘s Comedy Corner. The two were promoting headlining sets at Caroline’s on Broadway.
Rodriguez is working on new material on tour for her next stand-up special, a follow-up to her 2021 debut. Having grown up in the Dominican Republic, the memoir’s Spanish version explores her culture. It is important to her because the memoir speaks to her people.
“I want that book to get to the people that I wrote it for,” Rodriguez explains. “And a lot of those people, like back on the islands, here in America that don’t speak English, deserve to be seen, deserve the stories. I wanted to bring an awareness to people that are working class and poor people who are always looked down upon, being called all kinds of stuff, who kept the economy in the country going during COVID, by the way, because they were doing the essential jobs that nobody wanted to do.”
“So for me, it was very important for that book to come out in Spanish. My grandmother lived in America her whole life, and she never learned English. She was illiterate, and it was very hard for her to learn another language because she didn’t understand language, period. So yeah, I’m excited that other people have an opportunity to read the stories and to learn about me.”
“I remember being made fun of because they said I used to speak ghetto. And I’m like, I’m going to write ghetto. I’m going to write so the people in my hood, whose subjects and verbs don’t agree all the time, can understand what I’m saying. Those are my people, and I love them, and I’m so proud of coming from them because we can survive it all. And I feel like the people, all people should see themselves in media, not just the ideal people that white supremacy and elitism likes to prop up.”
Rodriguez’s new book is available now in English and Spanish.