My post last week on comedian Katt Williams’ epic meltdown month was one of the more fun I’ve written, as any story that involves a high-speed tricycle chase and someone trying to pay $300K cash to buy a ferry to live on with his dogs would be. Nonetheless, Katt Williams is a funny dude, and we wish him the best, and today we have an update of sorts. You may remember (and if you don’t you can watch the video) that Williams slapped a Target employee near Sacramento, during an argument that started when Katt Williams tried to buy the kid’s motorcycle helmet, probably to keep cops from recognizing him after the aforementioned tricycle chase.
The way the kid described it:
“He’s just really aggressive, you know, making cynical comments, just based on the fact that I put thought into selling him my helmet,” he said.
The 19-year-old security staffer thought it was over until he saw Williams a second time.
“He approached me, the argument got escalated, and that’s when he hit me,” he said.
The way Katt Williams described it onstage at the Comedy Store in LA last night:
“This is what the dude at Target said … ‘Your assistant is already suing you, you p**sy ass n***er.”
The jab is a reference to this lawsuit — in which Katt’s former assistant is suing him for $5 million, claiming the comic punched her.
Katt said he flipped when he heard the slur and asked the employee, “Did you just say the n-word in front of Katt Williams?” — to which the employee answered, “You say it all the time.”
Katt says he shot back, “Say it again and see what happens” — and that’s when he knocked the guy upside the head.
“That’s the same sh*t that drove [Chappelle] out of the f***ing business.”
Of course, it should be said, Katt Williams was onstage doing comedy, so that might not be the way he really thinks it went down, it could just be what he thought would be a funny way to describe it onstage (and to that I’d say Katt, I bet the truth is a lot funnier and more interesting than this hero’s journey you’ve constructed for yourself). Assuming Katt was speaking literally, do you think the kid actually called him the N-word? The kid did get fired the next day, and he does have a bit of a Hipster Hitler haircut going on, so anything’s possible, but somehow I doubt a white kid from Sacramento named “Forrest Liebenberg” is going around calling people “pussy-ass n**gers.” It also would be odd that a random kid at Target would know about Katt Williams’ latest lawsuits. And nothing says crazy like assuming random passersby know every detail of your personal life. Ever noticed raving homeless people always start conversations in the middle of a sentence? It’s like that.
Meanwhile, Williams was supposed to be in Kansas City last Wednesday, but pulled a no-show, which ticketholders discovered 15 minutes before the show was supposed to start. Suge Knight, who bailed him out last week, says Williams isn’t crazy or on drugs:
While people have attributed Katt Williams’ recent bad behavior on drugs, Suge Knight denies that and offers another reason. Knight says Katt’s erratic behavior is in response to harassment he receives from fans. “People test him because he’s small and the best comedian of all time.”
Knight goes on to explain that it ain’t easy being a vertically challenged comedian known for playing a pimp. Suge takes it a step further by comparing Williams’ “drama moment” to those of Richard Pryor and Mike Tyson. “When people see him, they don’t separate the Katt Williams on stage from the Katt Williams just being a regular person. That’s what happens when you’re the best in the business. Sometimes you just have rough times.” [UrbanDaily]
While I’m sure peoples’ lack of boundaries with approachable comedians plays a part, I’m not sure the guy who produced that Tupac song where he stops rapping in the middle of the song and just starts screaming about how he’s going to murder everyone’s kids would be the best judge of character. I hope Katt Williams has someone else in his life offering counseling than Suge Knight. Morgan Freeman, say. I bet Morgan Freeman could get Katt Williams back on track, probably in three voiceovers or less.