Comedian Katt Williams recently stirred up a lot of controversy when he hopped on Shannon Sharpe’s podcast. He referenced many other celebrities and comedians in the passionate interview, including the original kings of comedy.
His feud with the kings of comedy isn’t new, as it’s been spanning for decades. Which was why Williams was so adamant in surpassing them in the comedy space.
Katt Williams was determined to break this original Kings of Comedy record
Williams has always made his feelings known regarding the proclaimed Kings of Comedy. The group famously consisted of Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, and the late Bernie Mac. Spike Lee once filmed the comic legends as each took turns sharing their material with a large audience. The original Kings of Comedy tour made $37 million.
Williams’ grievances with the kings of comedy were primarily aimed at the likes of Steve Harvey and Cedric the Entertainer. He claimed that Cedric stole one of his jokes.
“When it initially happened to me, it crushed me because the comedian was already bigger and more famous than me and he took my closing joke and made it his closing joke on Kings of Comedy. The reason it hit so bad was that I was in the theater,” he once told The Morning Hustle.
When Williams finally achieved his own success in the comedy space, he vowed to take it out on the Kings. His mission was to break the all-time record of the original Kings of Comedy tour, which he claimed to accomplish.
“I found another goal,” Williams once said according to The Denver Post. “Steve Harvey talked so much that I decided I would come out and single-handedly earn $54 million in one tour and break the Original Kings of Comedy record, so I could call myself the original king of comedy.”
Katt Williams turned down joining the Original Kings of Comedy
Although Williams has drama with Harvey and Cedric, he had high praise for D.L. Hughley and Bernie Mac. He seemed to have so much loyalty to the latter that it played a big role in Williams turning down a Kings of Comedy spot. In his famous interview with Club Shay Shay, Williams asserted he was approached for a membership after Mac left the group.
“After Bernie left, them same three guys I’m telling you about, the kings, because D.L is the greatest, there’s no D.L. slander tolerated, but they came to me. I was supposed to be the fourth king, I got the offer. But I turned it down because you s*** on Bernie. And I know the truth,” he said.
Williams also believed that there was some jealousy from Harvey to Mac, which caused a further rift between the two.
“Why? Because the whole time Bernie was here, you were acting like you were funnier than him. The reason you were supposed to go last is because it was your tour. Tell the truth. It was Steve’s tour. Now, it was gonna be called Kings of Comedy, it was Steve’s tour. These are the guys opening up for him,” he said.
How Cedric the Entertainer responded to Katt Williams
Cedric seemed to take the high road when it came to responding to the Wild n’ Out alum. Cedric claimed the joke Williams felt he stole was his own material that was years in the making. He even felt he might’ve helped pave the way for Williams.
“[I’ve been in] over 40 movies, my specials and brand speaks volumes for I am. The people I have put on [include] ‘Katt in the Hat’ at the Gibson Amphitheater,” Cedric once posted according to The Wrap.
