Actor-comedian Katt Williams blasted several of his peers during a podcast episode that’s gone viral.
During Wednesday’s (January 3) episode of the “Club Shay Shay” podcast, Williams was critical of Cedric the Entertainer, Steve Harvey, and Rickey Smiley, a group he described as a “gang” of “low-brow comedians,” per USA Today.
“For 30 years, they’re a group. These aren’t three random guys,” Williams told podcast host Shannon Sharpe. “All of these dudes are co-entwined and they share secrets, and this is the age of truth.”
During the podcast, Williams claimed Cedric the Entertainer stole a joke from a comedy set he performed on BET’s ComicView in the 90s.
“This is not just a random joke. This is my very best joke and it’s my last joke, and it’s my closing joke,” Williams said. “1998, I’m doing this joke. It’s on ‘ComicView.’ Cedric comes to The Comedy Store. He watches me in the audience. He comes backstage. He tells me what a great job I did and how much he loves the joke. Two years later, he’s doing that as his last joke on ‘The (Original) Kings Of Comedy,’ and he’s doing it verbatim.”
Williams said he could no longer give Cedric a “pass” for using his joke after he denied taking the material.
“He thought that I was just a no-name comedian and that he could take this joke and nobody would know,” Williams said.
Williams also addressed a comment previously made to Sharpe by Smiley, whom he co-starred with in the 2002 film Friday After Next. Smiley, who portrayed Santa Claus in the film, had told Sharpe that he originally had the role of Money Mike, which was played by Williams.
“This man told you he had Katt Williams’ role. He was going to be Money Mike, and Katt Williams was going to be the Santa Claus,” Williams said on Wednesday’s podcast episode. “We auditioned in Los Angeles. I was audition No. 201. Two-hundred Black comedians auditioned for the role of Money Mike with me. You’re saying all 201 of us was auditioning, and you had already had the role and had already shot the role in four days?”
Williams further alleged that Harvey copied the premise of his 1996 show The Steve Harvey Show from fellow comedian Mark Curry. Curry played a teacher in 1992’s Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper, while Harvey played a high school music teacher on his show.
“The same Steve that went to go watch Mark Curry do his whole sitcom and then stole everything Mark Curry had,” Williams said. “Now Steve got a sitcom where he’s the principal and he wears a suit.”
Willaims also took aim at Harvey’s acting skills.
“You couldn’t be a movie star,” Williams said. “There are 30,000 new scripts in Hollywood every year. Not one of them asked for a country bumpkin Black dude that can’t talk good … and look like Mr. Potato Head. There ain’t none. You have to have range.”
Cedric the Entertainer responded to Williams’ claims against him, calling his comments “revisionist history.”
“Regardless of whatever Katt’s opinion, my career can’t be reduced to one joke Katt Williams claims as his,” Cedric wrote Wednesday on social media. “I been (in) over 40 movies, my specials and brand speak volumes for I am. The (people) I have put on including ‘Katt in the Hat’. At the Gibson Amphitheater.”
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