Faizon Love, the man who tried to keep Buddy the Elf in line at Gimbels, has been arrested and the internet is doing a double-take now that the comedian is sitting in a Florida jail cell.
Faizon Love, the 58-year-old comedian beloved for playing the no-nonsense department store manager in the 2003 Christmas classic “Elf,” was booked into Tampa’s Orient Road Jail in Hillsborough County on Tuesday, held without bond on two counts of contempt of court. For a guy whose most famous scene is barking “Santa’s coming to town!” at a melting-down Will Ferrell, the mugshot making the rounds, stone-faced in an orange jumpsuit, is a jarring sight for anyone who watches “Elf” every December.
The charges stem from a long-running paternity and child support case, and the numbers involved are eye-popping.
According to court records reported across multiple outlets, the Faizon Love arrest traces back to a long-running paternity dispute involving a woman named Tiffany Lee. Earlier this year, the actor filed documents claiming he simply couldn’t pay what’s owed a staggering $250,000 in back child support, per TMZ- insisting he hadn’t earned a dime in the previous 12 months. The court let the contempt proceedings move forward anyway, ordering him to surrender for a 90-day sentence, and when that didn’t happen, a judge signed off on his arrest.
It isn’t Love’s first brush with the law, either; the “Friday” and “Couples Retreat” star has had multiple prior run-ins, including a felony assault case still pending in San Diego.
Neither Love nor representatives for Tiffany Lee have publicly commented, the latest in a string of celebrity legal troubles to go viral this week.
Fans Turned The Faizon Love Arrest Into A Christmas Roast
If the mug shot was sobering, the internet’s reaction was anything but. The moment the news hit social media, fans flooded the replies with a blizzard of “Elf” jokes. “Santa’s coming to town!” one user fired back, quoting the movie’s most famous line. Another riffed on the holiday theme: “Kick that naughty Grinch off the sleigh.” A third reached straight for Buddy’s own vocabulary, dubbing the whole situation “cotton-headed ninny muggins” energy.
Beneath the gags, though, a lot of the replies were oddly affectionate. “Free my boy,” more than one fan pleaded. “Does somebody need a hug?” another joked, nodding to Love’s gruff-but-lovable on-screen persona. Several couldn’t resist pointing out the timing, reminding everyone he’s got a “Friday” sequel reportedly in the works. “Don’t forget him in ‘Friday,’” one wrote.
He’s due back before a Hillsborough County judge on Friday, a court date that, this time, he won’t be able to miss.
