‘I Want You to Play My Wife or Girlfriend’: Tisha Campbell Reflects On Martin Lawrence Promising He Would Cast Her as a Love Interest Before “Martin” Debuted as a Critic Blames the Actress For the Show’s Downfall Tisha Campbell, 55, became a household name in the 1990s but many often refer to her iconic role as Gina Waters-Payne on the classic 1990s television series “Martin.” Gina played the wife of the lead actor Martin Lawrence’s titular character. Lawrence apparently always had plans to have an on-screen relationship with Campbell even before “Martin” debuted in Aug. 1992. Previously, they were cast mates in the “House Party” (1990) and “Boomerang” (1992) motion pictures. Tisha Campbell reflects on Martin Lawrence promising he would cast her as his girlfriend or wife before they became castmates on the “Martin” sitcom in 1992. (Photo by Arnold Turner/Getty Images for BET) On Sept. 9, LiveBitez shared a video of Campbell, which appears to be taken from an interview on Live, discussing her history with Lawrence. It’s unclear exactly who she was speaking with or when the video was taken, but it was likely in the last month due to Campbell rocking bohemian locs for the past month. In the clip, the “Push” singer reflected on building a bond with her future television spouse before “Martin” hit the air. “I used to sit in the back of the comedy venues and so I used to watch him go up all the time. I kinda became friends with him and Tommy Davidson. They were very close,” Campbell explained about fostering friendships with the stand-up comics. She added, “[Lawrence and I] had just finished doing ‘Boomerang’ and I saw him at the premiere. He was sitting next to Diana Ross… So he goes, ‘Whatever I’m gonna do, it’s either a movie or a series, I want you to play my wife or my girlfriend.’ I was like, ‘OK, sure. Alright, Martin.’” Campbell also expressed not believing Lawrence would hire her for a role in one of his future projects. However, she admitted the “Bad Boys” movie star kept his promise by casting her on his self-titled TV show. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Watch Live Bitez (@livebitez) “Martin” ran on the Fox network from 1992 to 1997. The sitcom’s fifth and final season ended sourly after Tisha Campbell left the show in November 1996, citing “intolerable” work conditions. In January 1997, Campbell sued Lawrence and the show’s producers, claiming sexual harassment. She accused Lawrence of making unwanted sexual advances and verbal abuse. The comedian denied those allegations. Campbell returned to “Martin” to film the last two episodes in April 1997 after a legal settlement. Following the sexual harassment accusations, Campell and Lawrence did not appear on screen together during the closing stretch of the program. Eventually, Campbell and Lawrence reconciled. They appeared together on BET’s “Martin: The Reunion” special in 2022 along with co-stars Tichina Arnold and Carl Anthony Payne II. “Everything else is a personal situation that we’ve all healed from,” Campbell told People in June 2022, referencing the sexual harassment litigation. “So we’re not even gonna talk about it.” Damn, Gina!!! MARTIN IS NOW ON NETFLIX! pic.twitter.com/0jJ5UAg6Qv— Netflix (@netflix) March 31, 2024 Despite that reconciliation, some “Martin” fans blame Campbell for the show’s demise. The "My Wife and Kids" actress still faces backlash for her lawsuit against Lawrence that essentially derailed the closing episodes. “Didn’t she lie on him said he tried to rape her or something?” one person wrote in LiveBitez’s Instagram comment section. A second person added, "Then a few years later you let that ex-husband of yours make you file an SA case and sue him. Then that husband leaves you and takes your money." Campbell was married to her ex-husband and father of her two kids, Duane Martin from 1996-2018. She has never walked back her claims of sexual misconduct against Lawrence, but she did talk about offering forgiveness. “We worked really hard to reconnect, to forgive,” Campbell stated during an interview with "CBS Mornings" in June 2022 when asked about how she was able to work it out with Martin after their legal fight. She continued, “This reunion is about a celebration of everything that we did, everything that we accomplished, and our growth as human beings. So we concentrated mostly on that.” In January 2020, Lawrence showed appreciation to Campbell with a complimentary Instagram post. His caption read, “Regardless of the past or any misrepresentation of it in the press, I have nothin but love for Tisha then and now. We are good and always will be!” Campbell and Lawrence appear to be in a more cordial place than they were 27 years ago. However, the actress who played Pamela “Pam” James on “Martin” detailed some of the backstage drama that took place during filming.  Tichina Arnold, a close friend of Campbell, insisted Lawrence began to distance himself from the rest of the cast after gaining more power due to his executive producer position. In addition, she suggested show business got the best of the Washington, D.C., area native.  “The network has a lot to do with that as well. They take care of the star and everybody else is a piece of s–t,” Arnold said while being interviewed for a 2018 edition of TV One’s “Uncensored” docuseries. Arnold has also been a target of scrutiny online over speculation that Campbell is the reason "Martin" stopped at five seasons. For instance, one social media user responded to Arnold's remarks by declaring, “Her BFF was the cause of the show ending.” ‘Didn’t She Lie on Him’: Tisha Campbell Exposes Martin Lawrence’s Promise to Her as Trolls Relentlessly Recall the ‘Martin’ Show Ending After She Sued Him