Katt Williams hospitalized? Not exactly

Is Katt Wiliams having his Mariah Carey/Martin Lawrence moment? That’s one of the first things I thought when I read this Sumter Item article that described in extensive detail what a local attorney in South Caroline said about Williams showing up in town on Friday for a family visit that turned weird, to say the least. Then again, weird has been the word for Williams of late. He missed an appearance last week on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. The next day, he spent 18 hours in jail before posting bond just in time to make his gig at Carnegie Hall. I was there. I saw him. So the first thing I thought of was my most recent encounter with Williams, which happened later that night at Carolines. For a guy who had been through the ringer, I was impressed not only that he managed to put on a show for his fans, but also wasn’t completely wiped out immediately afterward. Williams spoke with several fans at the afterparty at Carolines, and when he talked to me, he seemed quite happy yet overflowing with ideas that he wanted to share. At one point, he offered to have me come to his place in New Jersey for an interview in the early morning (which was only a few hours away) and also seemed ready to offer me a job. But I agreed with his publicist, Yvette Shearer, that we should let Williams take a breather before pursuing that further. So I thought about that night when I read the South Carolina paper’s lengthy list of Williams’ bizzare behavior. I also thought about how our Civil War began at Fort Sumter, but only for a second. And I thought, too, about how exhaustion and stress have forced stars such as Martin Lawrence and Mariah Carey into similar corners.

Shearer sent me this official statement today:

Following an arduous 300 shows and an 18-month touring schedule that
left him incredibly fatigued, Katt felt compelled to be with his family
in an effort to deal with his stress.  While doing so, he is under a
doctor’s care.

As this is a private and personal matter, we hope the media will respect his family’s request for privacy.

No mention made of whether Katt Williams will make his next big gig, Nov. 20, at The Comedy Festival in Las Vegas, where Williams is pegged to play the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Since they didn’t mention any canceled dates, I suspect he’ll be there. And I expect it to be quite a show.

UPDATED: I’m now hearing that Katt might, in fact, cancel his Vegas date. So stay tuned.

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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