After the dramatic incident at the Oscars where Will Smith slapped Chris Rock, speculation and theories have run rampant regarding the true nature of the altercation. Some have even suggested that it might have been a publicity stunt orchestrated for attention.
One theory gaining traction comes from comedian Cat Williams, who posits that Chris Rock is under the influence of the Illuminati and may have made a Faustian bargain for fame. Williams points to Rock’s controversial jokes and past controversies as potential evidence supporting this claim.
Adding to the speculation is Rock’s recent Netflix special, where he mentions the “Illuminati package” at Disney, which some interpret as a veiled reference to his alleged ties to the secret society.
The notion that Smith’s slap on Rock was staged has also been floated, with some suggesting it could be part of an Illuminati plot or a calculated move by the Academy to generate buzz and increase ratings.
Critics point to Rock’s history of provocative jokes and incidents, including instances of perceived racism and insensitivity towards figures like Whitney Houston, as further fuel for the theory that he may be under some form of control or influence.
In conclusion, the aftermath of the Oscars incident leaves audiences pondering whether Chris Rock is indeed being manipulated, as suggested by Cat Williams and others.
Remember The Last Dance? The must-watch documentary event of early 2020 in which Michael Jordan, reflecting on his final NBA championship campaign and legacy, captivated the world by finally cutting loose on his former teammates, rivals, and the headlines that dogged him throughout his career? Well, imagine if The Last Dance consisted solely of one long interview, switched focus from basketball to stand-up, and swapped out Jordan for comedy legend Katt Williams.
On January 3, the internet was stopped in its tracks by precisely this as Williams sat down for a nearly three-hour tour-de-force interview with ESPN First Take correspondent Shannon Sharpe on his podcast, Club Shay Shay. “The reason I had to come is because you’ve made a safe place for the truth to be told,” Williams said at the top of the interview. “And I have watched all of these lowbrow comedians come here and disrespect you in your face and tell you straight-up lies.” Was he there to “set the record straight”? Sharpe asked in reply. Apparently so.
Over the course of the interview, Williams makes outrageous claims (he said Harvey Weinstein offered to “suck my penis in front of all my people at my agency”); airs personal grievances with a half-dozen or so comedians, such as Cedric the Entertainer (who allegedly stole one of his jokes) and Michael Blackson (a comedian who doesn’t get “booed enough”); goes deep on the production of Friday After Next; and dismisses rumors about his personal life. He may not always be the most reliable narrator, and there are moments — like when he refers to Kim Kardashian as a “whore” or fixates too much on which male comedians have worn dresses in movies — that will raise eyebrows. But this is very much a strap-in-and-enjoy-the-ride situation.
Before the interview even finished premiering on YouTube, it began going viral on Twitter, inspiring memes, jokes, and fact-checking; provoking responses from some of Williams’s targets; sparking discourse about how young Black comedians rarely get the exposure these older Black comedians continue to get; and much more. To get the full effect, one must watch the podcast episode in full, but below is a brief selection of its various highlights, flagrant accusations, and possible libel.
On Kevin Hart: “In 15 years in Hollywood, no one in Hollywood has a memory of a sold-out Kevin Hart show, there being a line for him, ever getting a standing ovation at any comedy club. He already had his deals when he got here. Have we heard of a comedian that came to L.A., and in his first year in L.A., he had his own sitcom on network television and had his own film called Soul Plane that he was leading? No. We’ve never heard of that before that person or since that person. What do you think a plant is? Maybe people don’t understand the definitions of these words. He just did his documentary with Chris Rock, where he shows you that his whole upbringing in comedy was on the East Coast. So how, simultaneously, was he here in Los Angeles doing the same thing? It didn’t happen.
For a five-year period, every single movie that Kevin Hart did was a movie that had been on my desk. All I had said was ‘Can we take some of this Stepin Fetchit shit out and then I can do it? It don’t need to be overtly homosexual ’cause I’m not homosexual. It doesn’t need that to be funny, right?’ And me saying that and them going, ‘Oh yeah, no problem,’ and then going to give it to this other guy and having him doing it just like it was and acting like I’m a bad person ’cause I keep standing on my standard.
They tell you there’s no gatekeepers, but we keep seeing the same person open the gate. Didn’t Kevin let Tiffany [Haddish] in? … What do you mean ain’t no gatekeepers? There’s a hundred gates out here. Every one I seen got a keeper.” (On January 4,
On Cedric the Entertainer: “Cedric sitting here telling you why he ain’t a movie star. He over here looking like a walrus … He can’t even get his arms off his stomach. Sitting over here: ‘Why I’m not a movie star?’ He never wrote anything! Remember, when Cedric the Entertainer starts, he’s supposed to be singing, dancing, and telling jokes. That’s why he’s called ‘the Entertainer.’ We found out he can’t sing, can’t dance, and doesn’t write jokes. He did four comedy specials. They’re so bad, Shannon, they’re not available on Netflix or Tubi. Can I say that again for the audience? They’re so bad that they’re not available on Netflix or Tubi.” (Cedric the Entertainer responded to Williams’s comments on Instagram on January 3, saying, “Revisionist History, regardless of whatever Katts opinion My career can’t be reduced to One Joke Katt Williams claims as his.”)
On Kanye West: “I suspect that we’re pretty awful people if we say that somebody got a mental illness and then we watch what they do. If you say somebody got special needs, then why would you be watching them and holding them accountable like everybody else? Wouldn’t you grade them on a curve? Because, I mean, what are we reacting to? You’re the one that put him in a position where he thought he was God and could call himself Yeezus. And you’re the one that told the guy that writes musical lyrics that he was a genius. You’re the one. So what do you expect? The guy married a whore! I mean, married her because she was one. Not he didn’t know. He understood that he wanted that. He courted that. That’s what he wanted to base his family on. If what I’m saying is not correct, then how did she end up with Pete Davidson? And what if you weren’t even good enough for Pete and he leaves you? What do that mean the product was? No, I don’t support or villainize Kanye, because I don’t understand what it is we want from him. I don’t know why we look at a basketball player and say, ‘He didn’t score no hockey goals this whole season!’ He don’t play hockey!”
On Harvey Weinstein: “They canceled me for talking about Harvey Weinstein before the thing came out. But he offered to suck my penis in front of all my people at my agency. What am I supposed to do? He did all of that. I’m thinking I’m the only Black person on the script. I get there — it’s three other Black guys on there. Huh. I told him ‘no.’ What y’all do?”
On Steve Harvey: “You couldn’t be a movie star. There are 30,000 new scripts in Hollywood every year. Not one of them asked for a country-bumpkin Black dude that can’t talk good and look like Mr. Potato Head.
Steve told you that he stopped doing stand-up because he has seven TV shows. The only problem is when he stopped stand-up, he didn’t have those seven TV shows. He stopped stand-up because he got in a comedy battle called The Championship of Stand-up Comedy with one Katt Williams in Detroit in front of 10,000 people and lost. Because Katt Williams said he was actually bald and that was a wig. And I went in, and that’s why he couldn’t do stand-up anymore. Imagine him coming to tell you another story where he got so big and it was Bernie [Mac] and them’s fault ’cause they wanted to be movie stars. What? You called Ocean’s Eleven to get that n – – – -’s part. What do you mean you didn’t want to be a movie star?
This is like Steve Harvey telling people he used to be homeless. That’s my story. That’s not his story. Steve Harvey was never homeless. Mark Curry was touring with him 25 years ago. He was making $3,000 a show in cash and doing five shows a week. They just tell the stories: ‘Thanks to my wife, I’m where I am.’ You said that about the first wife! You forget that? You told us it was her. Then you went and married somebody else that ‘think like a man.’ What are you talking about? They think they can rewrite history.”
