Katt Williams Just Had a Holiday Named After Him
Comedian Katt Williams has racked up a long list of accomplishments, from breaking records to winning Emmys. Very recently, he received another accolade by having an entire Holiday named after him, which is a feat only few can claim.
Cincinnati recently gifted Katt Williams with his own Holiday
According to Cincinnati, April 27th will now be recognized as Katt Williams day. The city’s vice mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearny honored Williams with his own Holiday after meeting the comedian personally. The announcement was made Saturday night backstage at the Heritage Bank Center, where he stopped at during his Dark Matter tour. It was noted that Williams received the honor because of his contributions to comedy and his strong connections with Ohio.
Cincinnati was a frequent stop for Williams whenever he was on tour. He was born and bred in Ohio, although spent most of his formative years in Dayton.
“Cincinnati is always on the tour list,” Williams once told Local 12. “My first comedy special was from Cincinnati.”
But the Friday After Next star held his entire home state of Ohio in high regard, commending its citizens for their unity.
“Just being from Ohio gives you a whole experience that’s different from the rest of the United States. I know for me, just growing up in a place where one neighbor was black and one neighbor was white, racism just wasn’t where we were at. We appreciated both sides of things,” he said.
Katt Williams’ time in California helped him become a better comic with black audiences
California might’ve played as much of a part in Williams’ comedic success as Ohio did. After Williams caught the comedy bug, he’d test his material in front of audiences from other states like Florida and Oklahoma.
Although Williams resonated with audiences, he noticed that his comedy hit better with white audiences than with black audiences. This changed when he moved to Sacramento.
“So, when I move to Sacramento, it’s because Sacramento has a white and a black audience almost 50/50, that’s almost the make-up of Sacramento. So, I lived in Sacramento for two years until I get to the point where I am equally as funny if the room is black, as I am if the room was white. That’s not enough,” Williams once told Club Shay Shay.
Williams would then move to another California city to become a more complete comic.
“Now, I need to be one of the good ones when it comes to black comics. So, now I have to move to Oakland, that’s what lands me in Oakland for three years once I have dominated male black comedy in Oakland to my liking. Now, I’m prepared to go to Los Angeles. Now I know you can’t throw me any curveballs, if it’s a white audience if it’s a black audience, no matter what they are, I’m prepared to deal with all of the audiences,” he said.
Katt Williams explains why he performs comedy in cities that are just under the radar
Williams confided that there was an intentional pattern in the types of cities he chose to perform in. It was important for him to do his shows in cities that were on the cusp of greatness.
“I’ve done seven or eight specials in seven or eight different cities for different reasons, but I’m always picking a great city that’s right under the radar, that’s getting ready to do something,” Williams once told Vulture.
The Scary Movie actor highlighted a show he did in Jacksonville as an example of his influence. Williams believed that doing a comedy special there helped push the city to achieve the success and heights it was striving for.
“Just the fact that I was telling them how great the Jaguars were going to be…they were 2-16 when this filmed, and by the time it comes out they’re in the playoffs,” Williams said. “That’s why we’re doing it. It’s not solely a football conversation. It’s the fact that you can only be down so long. It’s only going get so bad and then it’s going to get better. It’s about who believed it was going to get better.”
