A state of emergency, icy roads and losing a legendary college football coach in the span of roughly two weeks did not stop fans of comedian Katt Williams from selling out and showing up to his Friday show in Huntsville, Alabama.
Before the controversial comedian’s viral, three-hour-long interview on “Club Shay Shay,” with Shannon Sharpe, he announced his Dark Matter Tour, which kicked off earlier this year. The Huntsville show at Propst Arena in the Von Braun Center was one of three stops in Alabama for the tour. There are no planned shows in Atlanta despite the fact Williams has lived in the metro area for years.
The opening acts included Cory “Zooman” Miller, a set from singer and rapper Lil’ Mo (2000s nostalgia, anyone?), Ms. Pretty Ricki, Taccara Williams and Mr. Cooper himself, Mark Curry. The headliner hit the stage just before 10 p.m. local time. Following a video reel of his most memorable film and TV roles, he walked out to Oasis’ “Champagne Supernova.”
“Huntsville, you put me on the map,” Williams told the audience. “Y’all have showed up and showed the (expletive) out. I wouldn’t have believed it, but it’s an unbelievable time.”
Williams thanked fans for not bailing out and hailed Huntsville as one of the great cities in America. However, one thing was on the mind of nearly everyone in attendance: How or would he address the interview that essentially broke Black Twitter?
Credit: Eric Jamison/Invision/AP
Credit: Eric Jamison/Invision/AP
Huntsville native Cassandra Belyue showed up because she wanted to find out. “If it’s the truth, like he said, put it out there and address it,” she said.
So, what did he have to say about his candid convo that sent verbal jabs at everyone from Steve Harvey, Ludacris and Tyler Perry, while showing love for Nick Cannon and Dave Chappelle?
“Y’all see I (expletive) around and broke the internet. Now, they want to charge a (racial epithet). I didn’t mean to break it, (expletive), just trying to do a good job,” Williams said to decibel-pushing ovation.
And that was it.
From there, Williams explained why he calls his show The Dark Matter Tour. “It’s something they don’t understand. I call it dark matter because dark matter is (expletive) we don’t understand. Scientists say it’s 95% of the whole (expletive) universe and we don’t know what the (expletive) it is. We’ve got space force and NASA and they don’t tell us (expletive).”
From there, the show was classic Williams, whose message throughout the hourlong-plus set was you can and be anything you want in America. He also took the time to call out Cannon — “Nick Cannon has 136 children” — Robert De Niro’s sperm count, Wayne Brady’s sexuality and Da Brat’s new baby. He delivered his signature brand of observational humor, explaining why former President Donald Trump is Black, riffing on President Joe Biden’s dog Commander’s penchant for biting White House Guests and on McDonald’s ties to the Illuminati.
On paper, the show was a success. The arena sold 6,500 tickets according to Samantha Nielsen, the Von Braun Center’s director of marketing and public relations. Nielsen added that ticket sales for the show saw a spike earlier this month after the infamous interview. She added there was a real possibility the show would get postponed or rescheduled.
“There was discussion between the promoter, the artist’s management and the VBC. Ultimately, the final decision to continue the show as planned was made by the promoter and the artist’s management,” Nielsen said.
Montgomery native Richard Clement was worried about the show not happening, or that Williams might be performing in front of a smaller crowd than expected. “People were still trying to sell tickets before the show,” said the former VBC security guard, who stuck around after the show to chat with old colleagues who were escorting audience members to the exits. “I was thinking it was going be kind of a skeleton crew, but it was a packed house and I’m proud of everybody for carefully making it out.”
Clement was ecstatic to see Curry, one of his favorite comics, on the stage. On the “Club Shay Shay” interview, Williams lauded Curry for helping him grow as a writer. He also accused Steve Harvey of ripping the idea behind Curry’s popular ‘90s sitcom “Hanging With Mr. Cooper” for his own show, “The Steve Harvey Show.”
After sitting through the set, Clement was fine with how Williams spoke to the audience about the incident. “We’re all human and have a right to our opinions,” he said. “Tonight, we definitely got some education along with a comedy show.”
Shirley Lewis has not missed a Katt Williams show in Huntsville. She says she purchased her tickets long before the “Club Shay Shay” interview, and was with sisters who drove in from Montgomery. The Huntsville set and what Williams said about everything leading up to it is everything she expected. Lewis was not at all surprised that others like herself braved the Rocket City tundra to get there.
“He speaks the truth. He’s very controversial and he puts humor with it,” Lewis said. “People like him, he’s genuine and so people follow him. He has a fan base and we just come out.”
Good friends Joanne Southerland and April Moss came to the show together. Moss says she did not listen to or watch the full “Club Shay Shay” interview, but her husband could not stop talking about it, so it became the lead topic of discussion in the house leading up to the show. For Southerland, the conversation is nothing new to dedicated Williams’ fans.
Moss and Southerland enjoyed the show and Williams’s comments about what happened with Sharpe.
“He just calls it what it is. He has no shame whatsoever. You’ve just got to laugh about it,” Southerland said.
The next stop for The Dark Matter Tour is Jan. 26, in Tupelo, Mississippi. The tour is also part of the programming for the “Netflix is a Joke Fest,” with Williams set to perform a taped set on May 4 at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles.
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