Are you not afraid about being blackballed again? These are some powerful people.
What do you mean, again? These people are not powerful. Satan can’t create anything.
You know what the number one job of somebody that sold their soul in Hollywood is? It’s to act like it didn’t happen. It took people far more courageous than I was, who stood together, spoke their truth, and inspired me to do this.
Cat Williams is regarded by many as one of the funniest comics of his generation. He’s known for his unfiltered humor, energy, and blockbuster stand-up specials. Despite his ranking among Hollywood’s greats, however, Williams hasn’t received the same mainstream push that his contemporaries have. He doesn’t star in blockbuster movies like Kevin Hart, and you’ll rarely catch Williams sponsoring a commercial. For a while, some thought this meant Williams was blackballed from the industry. But in a recent interview with Shannon Sharpe, Cat revealed why he isn’t in the good books of the industry.
Williams, known for his unapologetic style and fearless commentary, delved into the dynamics of Hollywood and the comedy industry. His statements brought attention to Kevin Hart’s rapid rise to stardom and questioned the authenticity of the comedic landscape.
Cat Williams began by highlighting the astonishing trajectory of Kevin Hart’s career in Hollywood. By first questioning the unprecedented speed with which Hart achieved success, “In 15 years in Hollywood, no one in Hollywood has a memory of going to a sold-out Kevin Hart show, there being a line for him, or ever getting a standing ovation at any Comedy Club.” Williams went on and suggested that Hart’s rapid ascent was unusual and posed the question of whether Hart had truly paid his dues in the competitive world of stand-up comedy. The comedian emphasized the significance of the journey and questioned whether Hart’s seemingly instant success was indicative of a different narrative. “He already had his deals when he got here. Have we heard of a comedian that came to LA and in his first year in LA, he had his own sitcom on network television and had his own movie called Soul Plane that he was leading?” No.
In the interview, Cat Williams introduced the term “plant” to describe someone who seemingly appears out of nowhere and attains success without the traditional struggles that comedians often face, and then claims they are self-made. Williams also went further to reveal the things that Kevin Hart and other comedians have done in order to be accepted as A-list celebrities. He revealed that he had a tense encounter with Martin Lawrence who tried to make him wear a dress for a movie role. Williams said that he was offered a part in Lawrence’s film, Big Mama’s House 2, but he turned it down when he found out that he had to dress up as a woman. He claimed that Lawrence was not happy with his decision and tried to pressure him into doing it. He said, “Come on, man, it’s just comedy. It’s not that serious. It’s not like you’re really a woman.” I said no, man. I’m not doing it. I have principles and I have dignity. I don’t want to disrespect myself or my people. He said, “Well, you’re missing out on a big opportunity. You could be a star.” I said, “I’m already a star. I don’t need to wear a dress to be funny.”
Williams said that he respects Lawrence as a comedian and an actor, but he does not agree with his choice of wearing dresses for laughs. He said that he believes that Hollywood has an agenda to emasculate black men and make them look weak and foolish. “I’m not saying that every black man who wears a dress is selling out, but I’m saying that there is a pattern and a purpose behind it. They want to make us look like clowns and buffoons. They want to take away our masculinity and our power. They want to make us lose our identity and our self-respect.” William said that he is not afraid to speak his mind and stand up for what he believes in, even if it means losing some fans or some money. He said that he is proud of who he is and what he does and will never compromise his integrity for fame or fortune. “I’m not here to please everybody. I’m here to tell the truth and make people laugh. I’m here to be myself and be original. I’m here to be Cat Williams, not somebody else’s puppet.”
Well, it appears Cat’s words were not confined to the black community only, because actor Brendan Fraser, just like Cat, has experienced the shady side of Hollywood after refusing to conform to its elites’ demands. For context, Brendan Fraser seemed to be everywhere at the turn of the millennium. He was headlining goofy kids’ adventure comedies, leading a mainstream franchise, and nabbing roles in critically favorable films. When you put it all together, Fraser has one of the most impressive bodies of work in Hollywood, from his critically acclaimed roles in “School Ties” and “Gods and Monsters” running all the way through mega-hits such as “The Mummy” and “Journey to the Center of the Earth.”
Simply put, we love Brendan Fraser. But his star power has dulled over the years, leading many to wonder, why is Hollywood giving Fraser the cold shoulder? You see, Fraser’s bankability as a big name was called into question early on in his rise to fame. While the actor enjoyed some commercial successes, such as “George of the Jungle” in 1997 and “The Mummy” in 1999, he also suffered some serious stinkers at the same time, like “Blast from the Past” and “Dudley Do-Right” in 1999, both of which had critics laughing for all the wrong reasons and certainly didn’t draw much audience interest. “The Mummy Returns” in 2001 gave him some much-needed momentum in the right direction, and he went on to nab a role in the critically favored “Crash” in 2005 before jumping into another action-adventure realm in “Journey to the Center of the Earth” in 2008. But after that, his inability to drum up an audience seriously damaged his leading man reputation.
Fraser’s appeal as the lovable doofus in “George of the Jungle” didn’t quite translate to other franchise hopeful films. Not only did “Dudley Do-Right” do wrong, but “Monkeybone” was a dissed and dismissed non-starter, and perhaps most tellingly, his attempt to lead a live-action take on the Looney Tunes animated world sputtered out with a lackluster reception to “Looney Tunes: Back in Action.” Fraser gave the goofball game that had made him a name one more go with “Furry Vengeance,” but that movie was a disaster on all fronts and solidified the fact that Fraser’s silly screen demeanor just wasn’t getting kids to the ticket booths anymore. While the first “Mummy” sequel debuted soon after the original installment and successfully capitalized on the excavation adventure craze, the third movie was slow-going. By the time “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” rolled along, audiences were over it and had moved on to other offerings of its ilk, such as Nicholas Cage’s “National Treasure” movies. “The Mummy 3” didn’t exactly bomb, but its domestic receipts were less than either
