Photo by Jason Davis and Jon Kopaloff/Getty
Shannon Sharpe is speaking out over his viral interview with Katt Williams.
As previously reported, Sharpe sat down for an interview with Williams on his ‘Club Shay Shay’ podcast. It was released on Wednesday (January 3). Since then, social media users and celebrities he name-dropped haven’t stopped talking about their conversation.
During the three-hour-long interview, the 52-year-old didn’t hold back as he called out several comedians. His list included Kevin Hart, Cedric The Entertainer, and Tiffany Haddish, to name a few.
Williams was sure to speak his mind, from claiming comedians stole his jokes to alleging the industry puppeteered Hart. He also highly inflated his career statistics.
On Thursday (December 4), Sharpe weighed in on the social media response. He spoke on the matter during his YouTube show, ‘Nightcap,’ with co-host Chad Ochocinco.
The former NFL player seemed to take issue with comments about his lack of follow-up on things said by Wiliams.
“You decide — who do you agree with? It’s not my decision to make! I never said I was a journalist!” Sharpe said. “I never professed to be a journalist! I’m an entertainer. If you want hard-hitting questions, ’60 Minutes’ is the platform for you. ‘Dateline.’ ’48 Hours.’ Go to Lester Holt. Go to someone that does that.”
The 55-year-old claimed his interview style has never been trashed in the past despite having countless celebrities on his podcast since its 2020 launch.
Sharpe has sat down with everybody from Steve Harvey to Ricky Smiley and Chris Brown. But after his episode with ‘The Pimp Chronicles’ star dropped, it was the first time he said he had found himself in hot waters with viewers.
However, the former athlete believed that his demeanor didn’t trigger the negative comments as much as the controversial nature of the topics.
Sharpe added that he couldn’t quiz someone about an incident if he weren’t there. Instead, he said, he allowed his guest to speak freely. And Williams clearly had a lot to get off his chest!
“I’m assuming, [that] when someone comes on my show, and they’re telling me something that no one else has heard… I’m assuming they’re telling me the truth because only said individual was there would know. You’re asking me, ‘Well, why didn’t you correct this?’ Hell, I wasn’t on the set so I couldn’t!”
Sharpe added that he wasn’t going to “pick a side” between his guest and the comedians mentioned in the interview because he also shares a relationship with some of the people Williams brought up.
Regardless of how people felt about the interview, which currently stands at 17 million on YouTube, Sharpe thanked Williams for stopping by his show.
“So I have a personal relationship, I’m not saying we boys, but we have a friendly relationship. We cool. So my thing is like, that’s the hardest part. Because he’s saying things about people, and I’m like, ‘Man.’ The best thing for me is just to be Switzerland, stay neutral, ask the questions, and then I’m gonna let the viewing audience take their side.”
He said the interview had been in the works for well over a year.
