Katt Williams

Micah "Katt" Williams (born September 2, 1971) is an Emmy Award Winning American stand-up comedian and actor. He played Money Mike in Friday After Next, had a stint on Wild 'n Out, portrayed Bobby Shaw in My Wife and Kids, provided the voice of A Pimp Named Slickback in The Boondocks and Seamus in Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, and portrayed Lord Have Mercy in Norbit. In 2008, he voiced himself in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV.

Micah Williams was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on September 2, 1971. He was raised in Dayton, Ohio. The Williams family were devout Jehovah’s Witnesses, which Williams states was a contributing factor in his decision to leave home as a teen. Williams has stated that he learned to read at 3 years old and was communicating in multiple languages, including French and Creole. An avid reader, he recalls reading 3,000 non-fiction books a year between the ages of 8 and 12 years old.He emancipated himself from his parents at the age of 13, moved to Florida and supported himself as a street vendor.

Stand-up career

Williams started performing comedy in the Avondale neighborhood of Cincinnati. He honed his comic delivery by performing his routine in clubs around the country and had become an established comic by 1999, appearing at the likes of The Improv, The Comedy Club, The Ice House, and The Hollywood Park Casino. Most notably, he appeared on BET's Comic View as Katt "N da Hatt" Williams.

Williams starred in his first comedy special, Let a Playa Play, in 2006. His first HBO stand-up special came in 2006 with The Pimp Chronicles, Pt. 1. In 2007, he co-wrote and starred as himself in the comedy film Katt Williams: American Hustle. The film had critical success and established Williams as a mainstream comedian. In 2008, he released his second HBO comedy special, It's Pimpin' Pimpin'. Keeping busy releasing comedy DVDs and touring, Williams had a comedy tour that was named the best of 2008 by Billboard.

After a four-year hiatus, Williams returned to stand-up in 2012 for his third HBO comedy special, Kattpacalypse. Later that year, one day after a bizarre incident at a bar in Seattle that landed him in jail, he announced the end of his stand-up comedy career. However, three days later, he announced he would not retire.

During late 2013, Williams was on his Growth Spurt Tour. On August 16, 2014, he returned with a new HBO special titled Katt Williams: Priceless: Afterlife, which was directed by Spike Lee.

In September 2015, during an interview, Williams announced and described his upcoming Conspiracy Theory Tour: "The conspiracy conversation is a conversation that we are all familiar with. We know that there are conspiracies out there, but this is a conversation that encompasses a lot of things that aren't being discussed other places. That's the basis for all conspiracy theories: the fact that there is hidden information out there, and how our process changes about things that we thought we used to know. We all, at some point, if we're are at a certain age, we grew up thinking Pluto was a planet. This is probably going to go down as one of my finest works, just because it's a collection of forbidden topics that we can't seem to get answered. I am one of the rare urban public officials. Part of my guarantee in my ticket price is that I'm going to be talking about what we are talking about now, and discussing from now to the next time we see [me] again. This is the open discussion that we've had since 2003. This is what it is about."

In 2018, Williams released a new stand-up special on Netflix called Great America and shot in Jacksonville, Florida. In 2022, he released a new stand-up special on Netflix called World War III.

Film and television career

In 2002, Williams made his acting debut on NYPD Blue. He gained notoriety on Wild 'n Out, in which he appeared for several seasons. He appeared in the official music video for Wild 'n Out colleague Nick Cannon's single "Gigolo" in 2003.

In 2007, Williams provided the voice of A Pimp Named Slickback in The Boondocks. He plays himself as an on-stage stand-up comedian in Grand Theft Auto IV performing several routines, including an abbreviated version of one of his routines from Katt Williams: American Hustle. He has appeared in several episodes of My Wife and Kids as character Bobby Shaw. He was the roastmaster of the Comedy Central Roast of Flavor Flav.

Williams has also played supporting characters in films, such as First Sunday and Norbit, but is more widely recognized for his character Money Mike in Friday After Next.

In 2018, he played the character Willy in the season 2 premiere of Atlanta, for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.

Music career

Williams has also used the stage name "Money Mike" when rapping for songs by such artists as Baby Bash, The Game, and Suga Free. In 2006, he joined rapper Cam'ron's group the Diplomats, but was never signed as an official artist for the label. On January 29, 2009, he released his debut studio/live album, It's Pimpin' Pimpin'. On November 19, 2013, he and Hell Rell released a diss song to Atlanta rapper Trinidad James entitled "Lames in the Game" due to comments made by James about the state of current hip hop music.

On August 27, 2011, Williams' performance at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix was marred by an incident during which he responded to a heckler (who was identified as having Mexican ancestry) with an angry tirade that included shouting "so if you love Mexico, bitch, get the fuck over there". In an interview following the performance, he stated that the incident was caused by the heckler: "If a person starts their heckling with 'f' America, then that gives me the right to defend my country." He offered no apology for his remarks during the performance and said, "I don't think I need to apologize for being pro-American."

Two live performances in November 2012 ended early because of Williams' confrontational behavior. A November 1 performance at the Wells Fargo Theatre in Denver ended after he jumped off the stage to confront a heckler, while a November 16 performance at the Oracle Arena in Oakland ended after he engaged in a profanity-laced confrontation with a heckler and was assisted off stage by his own security.

On November 13, 2006, Williams was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport after a stolen gun was found in his briefcase. On December 14, he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of carrying a concealed firearm and was sentenced to three years' probation, ordered to pay restitution, and given credit for the three days he spent in jail.

In November 2010, Williams was arrested by police while working on a film in Coweta County, Georgia. He was accused of stealing $3,500 worth of coins and jewelry. He was released the following day on a $40,000 bond. Police later charged him with burglary and criminal trespass.

On June 11, 2011, Williams was arrested in connection with an alleged assault on a tractor driver. The alleged victim said three women approached his tractor at around 4:30 p.m. local time and attacked him with rocks and dirt clods, causing him facial injuries. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department officers arrived on the scene and arrested the three women for assault with a deadly weapon, and arrested Williams for felony intimidation of a witness. He was booked into jail and released that same night on $50,000 bail.

On November 15, 2012, Williams was arrested in Oakland, California, on charges of suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon; he had allegedly beaten an 18-year-old man with a bottle aboard Williams' tour bus in Berkeley, California.

An attendee of Williams' shortened performance at the Oracle Arena in Oakland on November 16, 2012, filed a class action lawsuit days after the event, seeking compensation for himself and "all others who paid money for a show and got nothing but Katt Williams' nonperformance".

On December 2, 2012, Williams was arrested in Seattle after he allegedly got into a dispute at a bar in the South Lake Union neighborhood. His arrest came after he no-showed the first night of a planned two-night performance at the Paramount Theatre. Five days later, he was arrested in Dunnigan, California, on a bench warrant arising from an incident the previous month in Sacramento, California, during which he allegedly drove a three-wheeled motorbike onto a sidewalk and refused to stop for police. The resulting chase was halted due to safety concerns, and the bench warrant was issued after Williams narrowly missed several bystanders.

On December 28, 2012, Williams was arrested in Los Angeles on child endangerment charges. He was held in lieu of $100,000 bail, and four of his adopted children were placed in protective custody.

On January 8, 2013, Williams was arrested at his Los Angeles home after failing to appear in Sacramento to answer the November 25 motorbike charges.

On October 29, 2014, Williams and Suge Knight were arrested for the theft of a camera from a photographer in Beverly Hills on September 5. In April 2017, Williams pled no contest to the charge of robbery and was ordered to undertake a year of anger management classes as well as receiving three years' probation.

On February 29, 2016, Williams was arrested in Gainesville, Georgia, when a clerk at a swimming pool store said Williams had hit him. When police arrived, they found Williams already lying face down with his hands behind his back, waiting to be handcuffed.

On March 23, 2016, a video went viral of the 44-year-old Williams getting into a fight with a 17-year-old boy following a dispute during a soccer game in Gainesville. The authorities planned to review the incident with the DA in addition to his ongoing court cases.

On April 27, 2016, Williams was arrested and charged with battery in Atlanta, Georgia, after allegedly throwing a salt shaker at the manager of a local restaurant. The manager claimed to have been hit in the mouth with the salt shaker when Williams' group was denied preferential seating.

On July 24, 2016, Williams was arrested on suspicion of battery after an altercation with a woman at the Sportsman's Lodge, a hotel in Sherman Oaks, California.

On September 15, 2016, Williams was arrested in Fulton County, Georgia, on a charge of second-degree criminal damage to property, after having turned himself in on a warrant for failing to appear in court for the April 27 incident. This new arrest involved an allegation from February 28, 2016, stating that Williams had thrown a man's cellphone.

On October 6, 2018, Williams was arrested in Portland, Oregon, on a charge of assault in the fourth degree, after he assaulted a driver during an argument about his dog. He was additionally arrested on an outstanding warrant from Georgia.

Williams is a Christian and often wears a cross during his shows as a symbol of his faith, though he briefly joined the Nation of Islam while living in Oakland.

Williams has one biological son and seven adopted children.

Media Appearances and Interviews

Appearance on Club Shay Shay (2024)

In January 2024, Katt Williams was featured on Shannon Sharpe's podcast, Club Shay Shay. This episode gained significant attention, with over 13 million Youtube views in less than 24 hours, for Williams' forthright and humorous discussion on various topics including his experiences in the entertainment industry, his approach to comedy, and perspectives on fellow comedians.

During the interview, Williams remarked, "Well as a comedian, you get free drinks at the club. So... All comedians either turn out to be connoisseurs like myself or straight up and down alcoholics like 60% of Hollywood." He also shared his candid views on acting, "Him (Ricky Smiley) and Tyler Perry, he can't play a man to save his life. They play good women, and I believe that the best actor should be in the best role."

Film

Television

Stand-up comedy specials

Video games

Documentaries

In 2007, Williams was nominated for the Teen Choice Awards Choice Comedian Award.

In 2018, he won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his appearance on the show Atlanta.