Originally posted Saturday, June 15, 2019 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Tiffany Haddish, the stand-up comic and actress, has postponed her upcoming June 22 Fox Theatre concert date, citing the "heartbeat" abortion bill signed into law last month by Gov. Brian Kemp.
"After much deliberation, I am postponing my upcoming show in Atlanta. 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," Haddish said in a statement sent to ticket buyers and media early Saturday afternoon. (11Alive broke the story.)
Ticket buyers through Live Nation can get refunds at point of purchase. The concert is already off the Fox Theatre website. Haddish had no other concert dates scheduled in any other city.
She has not set a new date at the Fox, which has a capacity of 4,500 or so.
Ticket sales appeared to be soft for the June 22 concert, based on Stubhub prices. A week out, there were fourth-row seats available for just $56.76. Those tickets were $120 at face value.
Another sign demand was not strong: very few tickets on third-seller marketplaces available in the upper rows at any price.
Haddish, who starred in her breakthrough 2017 hit “Girls Trip” and recently voiced a character in last weekend’s No. 1 film “The Secret Life of Pets 2,” is the first major celebrity to publicly cite the law as a reason she was postponing a live concert in the state.
The Los Angeles actress has shot several films in Atlanta the past couple of years such as "Nobody's Fool," "Night School and "Uncle Drew." Her most recent film shot here is upcoming comedy "Limited Partners," also starring Rose Byrne.
"It's great she's making a statement," said Marshall Chiles, owner of the Laughing Skull Lounge, which hosted a "pop-up" show with Haddish with 60 minutes notice that almost sold out. "I'd prefer they take the route of donating to local charities to fight it. I think that's more useful than not performing." He noted that Ariana Grande donated $250,000 from her State Farm Arena concert take to Planned Parenthood a few days ago.
The fall-out over the law continues as many celebrities and producers have vowed to take Georgia off their list of places to work in despite the very generous tax credits that have fueled the business since 2008. And if the bill actually goes into effect in 2020, many major studios have threatened to pull out completely.
Some producers, actors and crew members are staying and contributing to women’s rights groups and the ACLU, which vows to file a lawsuit to stop the law from being implemented. It has successful done so with comparable bills in other states.
The AJC was scheduled to talk to Haddish yesterday in advance of her concert, but her publicist cancelled the night before. The note Thursday evening said her “work schedule has shifted and unfortunately this time no longer works for her. Will be back in touch soon to reset.”
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