MAKE LAUGHS, NOT WAR

Comedy Club Owner Enss Mitchell on that Katt Williams Interview

By Stacey Gualandi / Photos courtesy of Enss Mitchell

It’s the interview heard ’round the world! When comedy legend Katt Williams joined former NFL tight end Shannon Sharpe’s “Club Shay Shay” podcast on January 3rd, he had a take-no-prisoners attitude throughout a nearly three-hour-long conversation.

On the receiving end of the (one-sided) bruising interview were several of his comedic contemporaries like Kevin Hart, Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, and countless more.

The interview already has over 47 million views on YouTube alone, but in case you missed it, these are just some of Williams’ witty yet wrenching takedowns:

• He called Cedric The Entertainer a joke stealer, a “walrus” and not multi-talented. “We found out he can’t sing, can’t dance and doesn’t write jokes,” said Williams. “He did four comedy specials. They’re so bad, Shannon, they’re not available on Netflix or Tubi.”
• He referred to Steve Harvey as a “country-bumpkin Black dude that can’t talk good and look like Mr. Potato Head,” and implied Harvey ripped off Mark Curry’s character in Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper for his series The Steve Harvey Show.
• He said (out loud) that Kevin Hart might be an “industry plant” because his career success came so quickly. “In 15 years in Hollywood, no one in Hollywood has a memory of going to a sold-out Kevin Hart,” said Williams.

Williams’ disses generated denials, discussion, and disappointment that he exposed what appears to be tightly held secrets in the comedy community. The outspoken performer said he didn’t want to come off as “a petty individual for picking apart lies,” but he hoped to set the record straight in his inimitable style.

Veteran Los Angeles-based comedy club owner Enss Mitchell’s perspective remains non-partial yet provocative post-podcast.

“I know a lot of those guys, and I’m not interested in commenting one way or another,” said Mitchell. “As a previous comedy club owner and lover of comedy, it breaks my soul when our comedy legends go at each other in front of the world.”

“If I had the power of Thanos, I would snap my fingers, and they all would write a three-hour dissertation on The Dozens. We have to heal from this.”

During the Katt Williams-Shannon Sharpe interview, Mitchell says there was a positive discussion about the lack of equal pay between Blacks and whites in Hollywood, and that’s the conversation he wants to have.

“[But] the truth is, my interest and focus are 100 percent on building up our community. Full stop.”

Mitchell worked with Mitzi Shore at the Comedy Store, Jamie Masada at the Laugh Factory in Chicago, and owned his own Chicago comedy club.

In 2001, Mitchell opened The Comedy Union in Los Angeles when he saw the lack of stage time for Black and Brown comedians to perform.

“I opened The Comedy Union to give young, talented Black comedians a safe place to call their own, to provide a level playing field for them to compete with their counterparts, and a place we all could call home,” said Mitchell.

Inside the Union, Mitchell executive produced several projects, including a groundbreaking DVD series at the time called “Phat Comedy Tuesdays” with comedian Guy Torry and “The Funny Spot,” a stand-up comedy series hosted by Tony Rock for TV One.

“These productions showcased some of our best Black comics to the world,” said Mitchell. “My vision was always focused on providing a platform for Black comedians to thrive.”

Over its two-decade run, Black comic royalty blessed the stage in the 130-seat room, Mitchell says. More than he can count.

“Katt performed on my stage, and it was always thunder; Kevin [Hart] frequently performed on my stage, and it was electric; Tiffany Haddish performed there, and she killed it every time,” added Mitchell.

Sadly, the pandemic brought down the house three years ago. Since closing, Mitchell pivoted to developing and producing for TV. His most recent work includes talent producer for VICE TV’s acclaimed “Dark Side of Comedy” series.

(Dark side of comedy. How ironic, joked Mitchell.)

“Maybe the time is right to bring back The Comedy Union,” admitted Mitchell. “My reasons are in the club’s name.”

Since the infamous interview dropped, Mitchell has received dozens of calls from comedians and columnists asking for comment on what is now dubbed on social media “the first interview to break the internet in 2024.”

As a friend of Mitchell’s for decades and a long-time fan of the Comedy Union, where I witnessed up-and-coming comedians like Kevin Hart and the late David Arnold take the stage (and got heckled by some of the best…Hello, Lisa Lampanelli!), he agreed to talk about how to move forward.

“I had already been seriously thinking about re-opening the club for a host of reasons,” said Mitchell. “But this tidal wave of calls and reconnecting with so many comics who still suffer from a lack of places to work out their material and develop their craft sealed it for me.”

Mitchell believes the next generation of talented Black comedians is seriously jeopardized if they don’t have a place to perform and work out consistently.

“I think we can agree that with all the Black millionaires in Los Angeles and around the world, it’s simply a crime for there not to be a proud, thriving Black-owned comedy club in Los Angeles,” said Mitchell. “It doesn’t have to be The Comedy Union, but a venue for the African American comedy community is desperately needed right now!”

So, Mitchell has a solution for all the Black celebrity comedians with money, influence, passion and an interest to build with and in their community.

“I have a new vision to do something great in comedy,” said Mitchell. “I would say to Katt, ‘I got an idea;’ I would say to Kevin, ‘Let’s do something they won’t expect;’ I would say to Cedric, ‘Let’s blow their minds.

“Maybe this is my fantasy talking, but 22 years ago, The Comedy Union was simply an idea in my head that became a reality, ” said Mitchell. “I see the Katt Williams interview as a way to inspire and bring all the top Black celebrity comedians and wealthy power brokers closer together to invest in and build a new comedy history together. This time with a lasting legacy attached.”

Mitchell has already thought of a new name for the club: The Comedy Re-Union.

For now, he hopes this viral moment—with 47 million views and counting—will also help these comedy kings realize their power and reach and bring us all “back to making the world laugh.”

Added Mitchell: “As an African American man, I want to help my community build, not break.”