Following Katt Williams‘ claim that Cedric The Entertainer stole jokes from other comedians, the “Friday After Next” actor now stands accused of stealing jokes himself.
During an appearance on “Club Shay Shay” on Jan. 3, Williams claimed that Cedric the Entertainer stole his joke about white people traveling to space to get away from Black people, which Cedric denied.
Williams also insulted multiple celebrities during the interview, and now, he’s facing backlash as he’s accused of stealing jokes from other comedians as well. “Black Jesus” comedian Corey Holcomb claims that Williams stole a joke from comedian and “Spider-Man: No Way Home” actor J.B. Smoove.
Holcomb appeared on the podcast “Wonder Twinz” on YouTube on Jan. 3, he claimed that Williams stole J.B. Smoove’s material for one of his first specials.
He accused Williams of stealing J.B. Smoove’s joke anybody could walk out to or do anything to a specific track playing before saying, “That’s my s—t” after the music stopped and using the music as part of his routine.
“I dare somebody to say this ain’t true ’cause I can get a thousand comics to back me up,” said Holcomb. “I root for Katt, I root for Katt, but that joke where he do like, ‘Man if you listen to this song, you can do anything off this song. That’s J.B. Smoove joke homie.”
YouTuber Bernard Riley shared a clip of J.B. Smoove’s performance in 1996 in “Def Comedy Jam” and another of Williams having a DJ play Rick Ross’ single “Hustlin'” for the audience during 2007’s “Katt Williams: American Hustle.”
Both men walk out onstage to music and use the music in their routines. Like Smoove, Williams repeatedly said, “That’s my s—t” and noted the song could be played in a grocery store or used to help a man get over a breakup the song with a similar repetitive nature. Holcomb also accused him of stealing other moves from J.B.
“I know all the guys that do other people’s jokes,” said Holcomb. “You ever see somebody hit the mic like they hittin’ somebody? That’s J.B. Smoove’s joke, man. They all stole it and ran with it.”
J.B. Smoove is a comedian, actor and writer who has appeared in numerous television shows and films including “Think Like a Man” and “Barbershop: The Next Cut.”
Cory Holcomb defends Cedric The Entertainer and says Katt Williams stole comedian JB Smooth's joke. pic.twitter.com/LvWmVn1Dzm
— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) January 6, 2024
The YouTuber explained that Williams simply borrowed inspiration from Smoove’s joke in the same way that Cedric borrowed him.
“Cedric The Entertainer saw a smaller comedian do something on ‘ComicView.’ He took it, refurbished it, and broke it out on a bigger stage when he blew up and did ‘Kings of Comedy,'” Riley said.
“Katt Williams saw a small (at the time) comedian do something on a smaller stage of ‘Def Comedy Jam’ but when Katt Williams blew up and got to a bigger stage he took something to a broader audience that was long forgotten.”
Holcomb went into further detail later on the “Wonder Twinz” podcast. He described Smoove as one of the “most outstanding underground comics ever,” and called Cedric The Entertainer one of the “Elites.”
He alleged that there are two “versions” of Williams, one that “people can’t understand” and the other that’s “brilliant.” But he seemed concerned about the way his comedian friend is going about exposing others in the same industry.
“You talk about everybody but don’t talk about yourself knowing you got a lot of demons, that s–t ain’t cool,” Holcomb added.
Neither Williams nor J.B. has yet responded to Holcomb’s claims.
