Actress and comedian Tiffany Haddish compared Georgia’s “heartbeat” abortion law to “new slavery” after canceling a scheduled comedy show in the state to protest the law.
Asked by TMZ on Sunday evening if it was a difficult decision to bail on her fans, Haddish said, “it wasn’t tough at all.”
“If I can’t have control over my body and no other woman can have control over her body, why would I perform there?” she said. “I don’t know how it’s going to get solved, to be honest with you, but what I do know is slavery’s not cool.”
“I read that bill, and it reads like new slavery to me” she added.
The actress then said that while she wouldn’t be offended if other entertainers choose to work in Georgia, she personally can’t see herself performing in the state because she was once a foster child in California, where she said she was “state property.”
“I was a foster youth, I was state property,” said Haddish, before turning emotional. “I belonged to the government of California. [They were] free to determine what I do with my body.”
“Now I’m a grown woman, I get to determine what I do with my body,” she concluded.
Over the weekend, Haddish canceled her upcoming Atlanta performance, citing the law that would ban abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as six weeks.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported that the Girls Trip star sent a statement to ticketholders Saturday, saying she cannot “in good faith” perform in Georgia unless it withdraws the so-called heartbeat bill. Haddish had been scheduled to perform June 22 that the Fox Theatre.
“After much deliberation, I am postponing my upcoming show in Atlanta,” Haddish said in a statement. “I love the state of Georgia, but I need to stand with women and until they withdraw Measure HB481, I cannot in good faith perform there.”
Major Hollywood studios, including Disney, Netflix, WarnerMedia, and AMC network have said they may reevaluate filming in Georgia if the law goes into effect.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.