Comedian Katt Williams shared some wisdom on cancel culture when he appeared on The Joe Budden Podcast on June 4. Williams spoke in-depth about being more sensitive and not offending groups of people.
After Budden asked Williams how he felt about cancel culture within the comedy arena, Williams said that society has many constraints that people don’t like but have to adhere to for the benefit of society as a whole.
“Nobody likes the out of bounds, but the out of bounds gotta be there or you’ll run up in the stands,” he said. “Some of these things are for the benefit of everything. Nobody likes the speed limit but it’s necessary. Nobody likes the shoulder of the road but it’s there for a reason. My point is, people weren’t all that extremely funny back when they could say whatever they wanted to say.”
The comedian also said that cancel culture doesn’t really exist, anyway, and that it just means a person can say whatever they want, and people have a right not to like what they said. He added that nobody wants anyone back that has been “canceled.”
“Cancellation doesn’t have its own culture,” he said. “That was people of color. That was us policing our own culture. That was people without a voice being trashed by people just because they had a bigger name than them and more money than them and a better office than them, they could sweep them up under the rug like they didn’t matter. I don’t know what people we think got canceled that we wish we had back.”
Forty-nine-year-old Williams told Budden that the goal is to be more sensitive to people and change how people speak about one another. A performer can sabotage themselves by concentrating on the words they use instead of the storytelling.
“If all that’s gonna happen is we have to be more sensitive in the way that we talk, isn’t that what we want anyway? I’m sayin’ your job a as comedian is to please the most amount of people with your art. So, if you wanna offend somebody, nobody took those words away from you. ‘Dirty b***h’ ain’t been taken away. You can say that. But don’t call somebody this word when you know this affects all of these people. Don’t say the R-word when you really mean people on the spectrum….Don’t say this word instead of saying little people.”
I love Katt Williams answer to cancel culture pic.twitter.com/T27nH7RsyN
— Zach 🌍 (@NAACPYOUNGBOY) June 4, 2021
Williams added that growth is a part of being an adult and that he has adjusted his thinking. He also said that if being sensitive to groups of people confines a comedian from doing their craft, they are probably in the wrong career.
The comedian plans to get back on the road soon. Williams said he couldn’t do much stand-up during 2020 because of COVID-19, but he is ready to perform on stage again as soon as the big arenas reopen.
“The jokes are written. The set’s designed,” said Williams.
We will be looking forward to it!
