‘It was Problems in the Last Season’: Tisha Campbell’s Wedding Photos Feature a Surprise Appearance by Martin Lawrence—Months Before Shocking Lawsuit Seemingly Ended ‘Martin’ Show
Every so often, footage of Tisha Campbell and Duane Martin’s wedding day in 1996 will resurface online. The two actors married in 1996 and had a bitter ending in 2020, but that hasn’t stopped fans from admiring the clips.
The video features notable Black celebrities from the 1990s who either attended or were in the actual wedding, such as Martin’s close friend Will Smith.
Jada Pinkett Smith (then still Will’s future wife), Campbell’s longtime friend Tichina Arnold, and “Why Did I Get Married” star Tasha Smith were all bridesmaids.
But on Feb. 7 when an Instagram user uploaded the video, fans noticed Martin Lawrence was at the wedding as well.
The appearance of Campbell’s co-star shocked many fans and sparked questions once more about the conflict that occurred between Lawrence and Campbell on the set of “Martin,” which resulted in a legal dispute.
In the Instagram video, Lawrence is shown ooking directly into the camera but chatting it up with an individual who is standing out of the frame. He appears in a longer 10-minute video from Campbell’s wedding day on YouTube.
Seeing the “Bad Boy” actor at the affair left fans puzzled about what unfolded in the months afterward that would lead Campbell to sue Lawrence and “Martin” show producers.
Campbell claimed that Lawrence had sexually harassed her by making unwanted advances toward her. She also accused him of verbal abuse and threatening her on set. The lawsuit was filed in January 1997 just five months after her wedding in August of the previous year. Lawrence denied all her accusations and “Martin” ended after the fifth season.
For most of that season, Campbell didn’t make an appearance except for the final two episodes. They were filmed strategically, where Lawrence and Campbell did not have to actually cross paths on set.
The two have since made amends and have spoken highly of each other in interviews.
But as for the fans, and the internet, they never forget.
One fan under the Instagram video wrote, “So Martin was at the wedding but yet it was problems in the last season all of a sudden? That’s weird lol.”
Someone else responded to the fan and said, “i was looking for this comment! Like whuuuut??? Why would he be at the wedding with all the chaos and scandal.”
Others thought the accusations that Campbell made against Lawrence were false. They speculated that her husband was probably at the center of the issue.
“Nah, Duane made Tisha lie about all that mess… He was the problem…,” wrote a third.
But Lawrence has always maintained his innocence while Campbell has never deviated from her story.
The “My Wife and Kids” star also previously made accusations against her then-estranged husband, which led to her filing for divorce in 2018. The following year, after claiming Duane had been abusive for years, she was granted a restraining order in 2019. In docs obtained by TMZ, Campbell detailed their alleged physical altercations, claiming that he once punched her in the face with a closed fist.
She claimed that she also suffered emotional abuse and said the behavior occurred as early as 1996 — the year they got married.
However, Duane Martin, who shares two sons with Campbell, has adamantly denied her claims.