Katt Williams has Hollywood shaking in its boots after an interview with Shannon Sharpe this week on Sharpe’s popular Club Shay Shay podcast.
In the nearly three-hour conversation, Williams took aim at everyone from Kevin Hart to Tyler Perry to Kim Kardashian to Chris Tucker to Cedric The Entertainer. Some of the barbs are based on personal beef, like when Williams accused Cedric The Entertainer of stealing a joke in the 1980s. Other attacks are more serious, including calling Kardashian a “whore” and referencing Tucker’s appearance on the recently unsealed Jeffrey Epstein client list.
As a result of the boiling controversies that stemmed from the episode, Sharpe has come under fire for his style as host. Depending on where you looked online, audiences were either awed that Williams got the freedom to make these attacks, frustrated that Sharpe didn’t push back or ask follow-ups, or concerned that Sharpe might lose his whole YouTube channel as a result of what Williams said.
One viral post on X split users, criticizing Sharpe for not listening well and not approaching the interview like a journalist.
“Interviewing (like journalism) is a skill and it sucks how we’ve minimized its importance over time,” @zajiheanaj wrote.
https://twitter.com/zajiheanaj/status/1742678626506576183
In the Club Shay Shay interview, Williams admitted he only did the show because he is a fan and appreciates the open environment Sharpe created for guests.
Still, Williams took advantage of that environment to personally attack friends of Sharpe’s and random enemies in show business.
Responses to the original post on X pointed this out.
He ambushed Shannon from the greeting and Sharpe was on the back foot basically the rest of the interview. A very public example of why writers are tired of bad interviews between celebrities passed off as "journalism" https://t.co/V8DRmyJNHz
— A Zora Neale Hurston Capricorn (@God_sgift_) January 4, 2024
I’d say it was less “poor interview skills” than it was him trying to protect the people Katt was going after because they’re his friends and people he’s had on the show. Katt was a wild card and it threw him off completely. Those interviews happen even to the best. https://t.co/WJSq4qQobo
— Zito (@_Zeets) January 4, 2024
The full interview has nearly 7 million views on YouTube, while the shorter secondary clips have over 3.5 million combined views.
That makes it a success for Sharpe, no matter how much anyone may want to question his interview style. Sharpe only failed in the interview if you believe his job is to hold Williams accountable. Nobody can control what Williams or any other guest says. And Sharpe clearly decided his comments didn’t cross a line.
While Sharpe’s employment at Fox Sports and now ESPN may put him in proximity to professional reporters, he makes no claim to be one. His move to YouTube has been purposeful, and he enjoys the freedom that comes with it.
Athletes certainly are put in position to handle interviews that previously would have gone to reporters and anchors. Pat McAfee’s bizarre geopolitical conversation with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is a perfect example. But Sharpe talking show biz with Williams is not.
Sharpe is merely filling a role we may have seen Jay Leno or Oprah occupy in the past. Nobody expected Leno to hold George Bush or Barack Obama’s feet to the fire on an entertainment talk show. Sure, Oprah is a great interviewer, but she never pretended to be a journalist, either.
Now, they didn’t let their guests say the sorts of things that Williams said on Club Shay Shay, either. But that’s more a byproduct of today’s digital ecosystem, where big personalities can self-publish to YouTube and avoid the FCC and TV advertisers.
Sharpe may not have handled the Williams interview like a journalist, because he isn’t one.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.