Comedian Katt Williams’ interview with Shannon Sharpe on the “Club Shay Shay” podcast set the entertainment industry ablaze. He called out many of the biggest names in comedy and roasted some of our favorite celebrities.
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However, he also discussed major parts of his life and career in the interview. Here’s our look back at Williams’ personal and professional evolution.
Childhood
Micah “Katt” Williams was born September 2, 1971, and raised in Dayton, Ohio. He grew up in a strict Jehovah’s Witness household. He was known to be extremely intelligent growing up. In a recent interview, he claims he was reading fluently at age three and was allegedly accepted into college at age seven. We can’t confirm any of that but this is his story. Katt Williams also said that, at five years of age, he was in front of audiences of thousands of people giving performances. He knew that he didn’t want the average career path from a young age, but his parents didn’t support him.
Moved to Florida
Williams always knew that he didn’t want to go into a traditional career path but his parents did not support him. At only 13 years old, Williams left home to go to Florida after allegedly getting into an altercation with his father. He was homeless in Florida, making money doing odd jobs and spending other portions of his time studying. He only participated in one comedy show while in Florida.
2002- Friday After Next
In the 1990s, Williams continued traveling around the country growing up, finding work, and becoming interested in comedy. He would study all of the great comedians and try material at clubs learning how to perform in front of all races of audiences before settling in California. Fast-forward to the jumpstart of his career, “Friday After Next” (he starred in an episode of “NYPD Blue” first, but this movie was his big break). Williams played the iconic character Money Mike in the 2002 film alongside Ice Cube and Mike Epps.
2003- The Tracy Morgan Show
Williams’ first recurring role was playing the character Freddie in ‘The Tracy Morgan Show’ from 2003-2004.
2003- Appeared in Nick Cannon’s “Gigolo” Music Video
Before “Wild N’ Out,” Williams’ first time working with Nick Cannon was his cameo in the music video for “Gigolo.”
2005- Wild N’ Out
Katt Williams was one of the greatest members of the “Wild N’ Out” team. He made his first appearance in the first season of the show in 2005.
2005- The Boondocks
In 2005 Williams voiced the character A Pimp Named Slickback in the hit cartoon series “The Boondocks.” The character appeared in a total of three episodes.
2006- The Pimp Chronicles Pt. 1
In 2006, Katt Williams performed in his first ever stand-up HBO comedy special, ‘The Pimp Chronicles Pt. 1.’ He financed all of his own stand-up projects.
2007- Norbit
Williams continued his pimp persona in the 2007 movie “Norbit” alongside Eddie Griffin.
2007- Katt Williams: American Hustle
Katt Williams presented “American Hustle,” one of his most highly-rated comedy specials, in 2007. Some fans believe that the intro to his set is one of the best in his career.
Arrests
Unfortunately, Williams has been arrested for short time periods several times. His first arrest was at the Los Angeles Airport when a stolen gun was found in his briefcase. In 2012, he was arrested five times in two months for several fights and child endangerment after police found guns in his home. Most of his arrests have been for alleged assault.
2012- Announces retirement
After being arrested for alleged assault in Seattle in 2012, Williams announced that he would be retiring from his comedy career. However, only a few days later he confirmed that he would no longer be retiring and was just feeling “disrespected” by the events in Seattle.
2015- In court with Suge Knight
In 2014, Katt Williams and rapper Suge Knight were arrested and charged with robbery for stealing a camera from a celebrity photographer.
2018- Atlanta
In 2018, Williams starred in the “Alligator Man” episode of the popular show “Atlanta” as the character Uncle Willie.
2018- Frank and Wanda In the Morning
Although Katt Williams has done many interviews in his career, this interview demonstrated why we shouldn’t get on his bad side. In this 2018 interview on V-103, Williams called out Tiffany Haddish and Kevin Hart, and even roasted host Wanda Smith while on-air. When she attempted to joke about his past legal issues, Williams didn’t hold back with his comments about her appearance and more.
2018- Wins an Emmy
Katt Williams won his first major award, a Primetime Emmy, in 2018. He won the trophy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Willy in “Atlanta.”
2022- Katt Williams: World War III
In 2022, the comedian’s 12th special, “Katt Williams: World War III” premiered on Netflix.
2024- Explosive interview on Club Shay Shay
On January 3, 2024, Shannon Sharpe released a nearly three-hour interview with Williams that now has over 40 million views. In the explosive interview, Williams recounts major moments in his life and career. The most shocking parts of the interview were his calling out of several comedians like Steve Harvey and Cedric the Entertainer, and reigniting his beef with Kevin Hart. He also talked about his jokes being stolen over the years, the Illuminati, Diddy parties, his choice to fund his own projects, and more. He lit the entertainment industry on fire, motivating several people who were name-dropped to clear their names.
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