Comedy infighting is making headlines amid the growing fanfare surrounding Mo’Nique and Katt Williams’ must-watch “Club Shay Shay” podcast appearances. But at what cost?
The interviews that saw Black entertainment luminaries such as Steve Harvey, Kevin Hart, Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry pummeled with allegations of industry transgressions have since sparked discourses about taking things too far, especially when it may be to the detriment of someone else’s career.
Chris Spencer, known for his role on “The Jamie Foxx Show” and among the comedy circuit as a writer, thinks that the issues Williams and Mo’Nique shared on NFL great Shannon Sharpe’s platform should have been kept behind closed doors. “I think a lot of that stuff isn’t the stuff that should be aired out like that,” said Spencer, speaking directly about the actress’ remarks about Winfrey and Perry, when he appeared on “The Stephen A. Smith Show.”
As Spencer and Smith discussed the possibility of a comedy figure being able to reel both The Pimp Chronicles jokester and Mo’Nique back in, Spencer said one of Hollywood’s multi-hypenate entertainers’ names came to mind. “Jamie Foxx is somebody that everybody respects, and even though… he hasn’t been on stage in years, he’s somebody we know [who] has seen all gamuts of this thing called the industry — music, stand-up, film [and] TV,” he said.
“And I think if he was to actually come out and say something, a lot of people would go, ‘Jamie has a point.’ Chris Rock has that voice, Kevin [Hart] — all of these guys have these voices. Steve Harvey has this voice. He’s seen the world of entertainment,” continued Spencer. The Original Kings of Comedy headliner has not publicly addressed Williams’ “Club Shay Shay” comments, and he won’t, according to the comedy veteran.
“You’re not going to hear from Steve,” Spencer plainly stated. He then recalled that when trying to egg Harvey into addressing the rift, he was told “one of the coldest lines I’ve ever heard. He goes, ‘Have you ever seen the moon bark at the dog?’”
Mo’Nique and Williams’ interviews have also been criticized by television judge Greg Mathis, who believes their feuds are doing more harm than good to the Black community.