Why Katt Williams Reneging His Retirement Is a Terrible Idea

His quitting stand-up (at least for a while) seemed like something Williams sincerely wanted to do for the sake of his family and for the sake of his own well-being. But just days after, his team, no doubt seeing their meal ticket vanish before their eyes, convinced him to carry on.
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Oh, so you know how Katt Williams announced his retirement? Right. Well, I guess he was just joking? "Katt is definitely not retiring," his reps said in a statement. "He will be moving forward with the tour." In fact, Williams is due to perform in Houston tonight at the Toyota Center.

His impromptu announcement came after he spent a rough few days in Seattle, getting arrested, being accused of misdemeanors and getting kicked out of hotels. "The reason why he made remarks was due to him feeling totally disrespected by all the things that happen to him in the city of Seattle," his reps continued. "He had a moment where he felt very unappreciated. He now just wants to move forward from those unfortunate events and give his fans outstanding shows from this point forward."

He felt disrespected and unappreciated?

I bet the thousands of people who paid money to see him on his current tour feel unappreciated and disrespected, too -- especially those fans in Denver (where he freaked out and left the stage early) and Oakland (ditto) or the fans in Seattle on Nov. 29 who waited for Katt to take the stage only to learn he wasn't going to show up. And speaking of being a no-show, Williams also failed to appear at an arraignment Thursday in Seattle where he was to face assault charges stemming from his recent visit to the city. The comedian's lawyer, Thomas McAllister, was there, though, to explain to the judge that Williams wasn't there because a newspaper article said he didn't need to be present.

It sounds like Williams needs a new lawyer. And new handlers. Williams is clearly unhinged and needs help, quite frankly, before he drops dead. His quitting stand-up (at least for a while) seemed like something Williams sincerely wanted to do for the sake of his family -- he mentioned his kids in the announcement -- and for the sake of his own well-being. But just days after, his team, no doubt seeing their meal ticket vanish before their eyes, convinced him to carry on.

Williams probably needs new friends, too. Snoop Dogg (who claims he's a good friend of Katt's) told TMZ, "Katt needs some help man. Somebody needs to really sit him down and get him some help... Whoever really got love for Katt that's around him, you need to take him and go get him some help."

Why don't you help him, Snoop?

For his sake, I hope Williams takes a long break after this tour wraps Dec. 16 in Indianapolis, and then gets some help before it's too late -- maybe take a page from Artie Lange, who years ago was battling addiction and attempted suicide. He quit the Howard Stern Show, went to rehab and took a complete break from comedy. Eventually and slowly he came back to the stage and landed a sports talk show with fellow comic and friend Nick Ni Paolo. For the time being, Lange seems to be doing well. Vanishing from the limelight seemed to help. And I think it could help Williams.

The details of Williams' recent incidents, including his video announcement of his retirement, are here, if you're interested.

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