Katt Williams Responds to Dave Chappelle: ‘Chappelle Would Never Cross Me’

Comedian Katt Williams stirred up a lot of controversy on Club Shay Shay, airing his grievances out on a few veteran comics. Dave Chappelle, however, disagreed with the way Williams called out his contemporaries. And judging by Williams’ recent comments, that may be a topic neither of them will ever see eye-to-eye on.

What Katt Williams had to say about Dave Chappelle’s comments

Williams went on record to address a handful of comedians he felt slighted him in some way. Two kings of comedy even caught a stray when Williams admonished Steve Harvey and Cedric the Entertainer for stealing his material.

But not everyone thought Williams’ statements were justified. Not too long after Williams’ Club Shay Shay appearance, Chappelle shared his feelings on Williams’ internet-breaking interview during a private standup. Chappelle felt Williams might’ve done more harm than good for comedy with his takes.

“Katt is one of the best painters in the game,” The New York Times quoted Chappelle saying. “So why are you drawing ugly pictures of us?”

Ironically, Williams quipped that Dave Chappelle might’ve been the only other voice with enough credibility to truly criticize him. But at the same tine, Williams never expected Chappelle to respond to his Club Shay Shay interview.

“Because there’s no big dogs for them to call other than Chappelle, and Chappelle would never cross me. Dun dun dun dun, and then he did,” Williams said.

The Wild ‘n Out star went on to defend his points, feeling that the comics he went after earned their mention.

“If I came to tell you a beautiful story, I would have painted you a beautiful picture,” he said. “I was trying to paint a story of a group of ugly [expletive] that would do things that would hurt you and uplift them, even though they didn’t need to do that. And then instead of helping you or befriending you, that they would go so far as to steal from you if they couldn’t emulate you and then lie about you.”

Katt Williams claims he walked away from $50 million just like Dave Chappelle did

Club Shay Shay wasn’t just a platform for Williams to retaliate against his adversaries. It offered Williams the opportunity to provide some insightful and colorful commentary about his experiences in the film industry. They were experiences that Chappelle knew all too well, as they might’ve helped drive the comic out of the spotlight for quite some time.

Chappelle famously walked away from $50 million, which he would’ve been paid for making another season of his Chappelle’s Show. Afterwards, Chappelle slipped out of the spotlight for several years. Fans had to wait until the mid 2010s for Chappelle to make a comeback on the mainstream level again.

Chappelle’s $50 million decision garnered a lot of respect from Williams, who asserted he’d been through similar situations. According to the comedian, however, he didn’t just turn down $50 million once.

“Now, I’ve had to turn down $50 million four times,” Williams said. 

He confided that he walked away from all that fortune for an integrity he was unwilling to compromise. As an example, Williams reflected on the time he was offered Big Momma’s House 2 alongside Martin Lawrence. But the comedian refused to wear a dress for the sequel.

“‘Why is [Martin Lawrence] in a dress again? You already played the old lady as an FBI agent, we could play anything now,'” Williams remembered thinking about the situation. “‘We could be playing a dogcatcher this time. Why do we need to be in a dress?'”

Years ago in an interview with Oprah, Chappelle also retold his own situation where he was asked to wear a dress for a project. Chappelle claimed that he had to turn down wearing a dress numerous times before the scene was changed. Similar to Williams, the experience had Chappelle questioning why there so many comics coerced into wearing dresses for projects.

“Then I started thinking about it. All the comics that I’ve seen, why do they put us in these dresses? But the minute it was clear, I was adamant. ‘I’m not wearing the dress, I’m not wearing the dress,'” Chappelle remembered.