(CNN) -- Comedian Katt Williams has apologized for a rant he directed at Mexicans during a show in Phoenix over the weekend.
"My remarks were not meant to be offensive," Williams said. "I want to apologize if my comedy act was taken out of context."
"I sincerely appreciate my fans within the Mexican community and would never intentionally go out of my way to offend them," he added.
The rant, more than seven minutes long, was delivered during a performance Saturday and has drawn criticism from several corners.
At the show, Williams singled out a man seated near the stage and asked him if he was Mexican.
"It appears to me y'all like it over here a lot," Williams then said.
He then launched into his tirade.
"Do you remember when white people used to say 'Go back to Africa,' and we'd have to tell them we don't want to? So if you love Mexico, (expletive), get the (expletive) over there!" Williams said to the man.
As the rant turned into a back-and-forth profanity-laced argument with the man, Williams exclaimed, "We were slaves (expletive). You just work like that as landscapers."
Several times during outburst, Williams sang parts of the national anthem.
Williams began his career as a stand-up comic. His 2006 HBO special "Katt Williams: Pimp Chronicles Pt.1" raised his profile. His often raunchy style has drawn comparisons to comedy legend Richard Pryor.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/SHOWBIZ/09/01/katt.williams.rant/index.html?hpt=hp_c2
This guy is a joke. He obviously meant what he said. If he really didn't mean it, it would not have gone on for seven minutes! I don't doubt that there are still racial comments toward African Americans; however, Katt's black comments about slaves were a little much not to mention his comment about Mexican's and landscapers which was totally out of line. In my opinion we have payed out dues for the treatment and use of slaves in our country. I am not discounting that some racism does still occur which in my opinion is just horrific; however how long can we be asked to pay for it before it's too much?
ReplyDeleteTracy
I do not believe this guys apology at all! There was no sincerity in his words. He claims that he would "never intentionally go out of his way to offend them" and yet that is exactly what he did for seven minutes. He had to have had a different comedy act planned out to present to his audience and yet he went out of his way to bitterly attack the innocent audience member who just happened to be sitting up near the stage. It appears to me that the only reason that he released this statement is because he realized the negative effect that it was having on the number of followers that he has.
ReplyDeleteI think that far too often in todays society comedians are passing the line of appropriateness in their acts. Although attacking the race and lifestyle of an individual may be considered funny to some people, the fact is no one deserves to be treated in such a disrespectful way as this audience member was solely for the sake of a few laughs. How could Katt not realize the inappropriateness of his action? I would be interested in knowing if he has ever been guilty of such behavior while performing in the past or if he once again does something like this. I also wonder if such bitter attacks on certain people do even increase the number of fans that comedians have, or if they just end up loosing as many as they gain.
-Kimberly Johnson
After watching the video, I noticed that the article included here may not be the most accurate portrayal of what happened that night. While Katt certainly may have been out of line in some of the slurs and stereotypes he chose to joke about, he did not “single out” any one--rather the man took offense and began heckling him while on stage.
ReplyDeleteIt has been my experience that minority groups are able to get away with many more racial jokes and slurs, simply because they may have been victims of it themselves. This attitude makes little sense to me though, seeing as nearly everyone has been or is a member of some minority group (be it racial, educational, you name it).
Everybody is so angry! I take it as a subliminal compliment. By saying that us Mexicans work like slaves as landscapers, he's recognizing our skills and superiority in this niche market. Whenever somebody thinks about mowing the lawn, even if they don't say it, they are thinking about Mexicans. Us Mexicans need to seize this opportunity and sell Mexican food to whomever is mowing the lawn.
ReplyDelete-Ben Garcia