Xtreme Vogue London Desk: Sarah Marshal
On Friday night at the SoLa Beehive in South Los Angeles, Tiffany Haddish threw her first annual “adult prom” benefitting the She Ready Foundation, an organization she founded six years ago to support youth impacted by foster care. The “night under the stars” was attended by stars, including Jimmy Kimmel, Lil Rel Howery, Steve Bellamy, Bert Kreischer and others.
The foundation began as an initiative to donate luggage to youth in the foster care system, something Haddish herself needed growing up. “We started with just giving out suitcases to foster youth because when I grew up in foster care, we were moving around from house to house and all my things were in trash bags and that made me feel like garbage,” Haddish told the room Friday night. “I’ll never forget the day someone gave me a suitcase and it changed my whole perspective on who I am as a human being. I started feeling like I was a traveler, like I was on an adventure, like I was a visitor at these people’s homes instead of garbage being dropped off at somebody’s front door.”
The night continued on with a live auction to raise money for the comedian’s foundation; Kimmel placed the highest bid for a painting by Haddish, and Howery won a trip to the Ashanti Empire (present-day Ghana). Kreischer also matched a $25,000 donation, shirtless, and encouraged others in attendance to do the same.
“I’ve never thrown a gala before because to be honest with you, I think they’re boring,” Haddish joked. “If any of you know me, you have been a part of my journey — you have seen me go from the bottom to the top to the middle, back up to the top, back down to the middle again … It’s a roller coaster! And I am enjoying this adventure.”
The lively night concluded with a musical performance by singer Mario and a DJ set by Paris Hilton.
