Tiffany Haddish won her first Grammy Award Sunday night, March 14, 2021, after her Black Mitzvah was named Best Comedy Album. The last Black woman to take home that honor was Whoopi Goldberg 35 years ago. Haddish received the news Monday morning while she was recording on the set of her CBS series, “Kids Say the Darndest Things.”
Following the win, the show shared a sweet video of the moment Haddish received the exciting news from a producer on the program, where she became emotional as she spoke of the importance of becoming the first Black woman since 1986 to win the award.
She said: “I just what? I just won a Grammy? Are you serious?”
When a producer spoke through her earpiece to tell her she had definitely bagged the trophy, she added: “Y’all serious? I really won? You know a Black woman hasn’t won in that category since 1986? A Black woman hasn’t won in that category since Whoopi Goldberg.”
A tearful Haddish then used the announcement as a teaching moment for two young Black girls who were filming the show with her.
She said: “Can I tell you why I’m crying? It’s a lot of bumpy roads that you cross and it’s a lot of times you feel like, ‘What? Am I doing the right thing? Is this good enough? Am I good enough? Am I strong enough to do this job?’ And you just have to believe in yourself as much as you can and against all odds, you just say, ‘You know what? I’m gonna put my best foot forward and I’m gonna give the world the best that I’ve got.’ Anything is possible.”
Haddish’s Black Mitzvah was competing against projects from Patton Oswalt, Jim Gaffigan, Bill Burr and Jerry Seinfeld. She was the first woman to win overall since Kathy Griffin in 2014 as well. The “She Ready” comedian also explained her win on Instagram and thanked a few of her fellow comedians, including Wanda Sykes, Lil Rel Howery and Jerrod Carmichael.
“I was Working today for @kidssaythedarndestthings Airing very soon on @cbstv. The Producers decided to tell me I WON a Grammy while I was interviewing these two young ladies Lauren and Ava, that want to someday be president of the United States of America. I was flooded with a such a since [sic] of accomplishment and relief. I kinda didn’t know what to say. I just wanted to cry but I knew it would have confused the babies. So I decided to use that moment to teach and share my feelings. Thank you @recordingacademy for the honor. Thank you to everyone that made #blackmitzvah happen…”
Take a look at the video on the next page of Haddish receiving the news of her Grammy win.
