Another podcast, another hot-button thinkpiece convo. This time, Tiffany Haddish is facing criticism after making polarizing remarks during a recent appearance on the In Godfrey We Trust podcast. The comedian and actress suggested that women who have children with more than two men might be dealing with mental health issues.
“I could be completely wrong and the internet probably gonna destroy me for this but I think women that have more than two baby daddies usually have some sort of mental illness,” Haddish stated during the conversation.
Wow. Mental illness, though? Yikes.
But wait, she attempted to support her perspective with biological reasoning, referencing a real phenomenon known as fetal microchimerism, which describes the exchange of cells between a mother and her baby during pregnancy. According to Haddish, this cell exchange alters a woman’s body permanently.
“Every time you get pregnant there’s stem cells that come from that baby and stem cells end up behind your eyes and your brain and your heart and your lungs and stuff to help your organs heal while the baby takes from you,” she said. “And that is why the Bible says you will only desire your husband. This is why you gotta use condoms.”
Taking her interesting but controversial theory further, Haddish linked these biological changes to spiritual and psychological impacts. “If you get pregnant by multiple people… that’s multiple spirits multiple thoughts multiple modifications from different DNA strands,” she continued. “Usually those bi***es are struggling in so many different ways… not just financially but with where to focus because you have too many different bloodlines in your blood.”
Her fiery statements have been met with strong reactions across social media, with many accusing her of reinforcing stigma toward Black mothers and spreading misinformation. Mental health experts and advocates have emphasized that such generalizations ignore the systemic and deeply rooted challenges that many women, particularly Black women, face.
When it comes to data, according to the Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance, nearly 40 percent of Black mothers experience maternal mental health concerns like postpartum depression. Despite being twice as likely to suffer from such conditions compared to white mothers, they are half as likely to receive proper care. Additionally, Black women are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications.
Sheesh. It sounds like we need a more comprehensive conversation here, and perhaps we should also consider how men with multiple baby mothers factor in. Does Tiffany Haddish think they are suffering from mental illness, too? Maybe we’ll find out what she thinks soon enough.