KATT WILLIAMS' WILD RIDE OF AN APPEARance on Shannon Sharpe's Club Shay Shay podcast started the year with one clear message: the comedian has far more than nine lives.
In a conversation spanning almost three hours, Williams, 52, discussed his family, career, legal issues, grievances with other comedians and this year's presidential election, among many other subjects. He also shared claims so wild that it was forgivable to expect a punchline (the assertion that his and Ludacris' fates in Hollywood were decided at a meeting with "the Illuminati" is a highlight; Ludacris dismissed the allegations via a freestyle rap).
On a personal front, the statements were no less sensational. He was reading fluently at 3 years old. He got accepted into college at 7. He read 3,000 nonfiction books a year in "multiple languages" between ages 8 and 12. He moved from Ohio to Florida by himself at 13, and later lived with sex workers.
The interview was social media gold. In the two months following its January 3 release on YouTube, it garnered over 60 million views. Countless snippets of Williams' cognac-fueled chat with NFL legend Sharpe have become viral hits on social media. And, according to research by Booking Agent Info, Google searches for the comedian exploded by 1,328 percent, rising from 85,900 to 1.2 million searches just 24 hours after the interview. Per the celebrity database, Williams' pre-Club Shay Shay Instagram following stood at 798,052. As of press time, it exceeds 1.3 million.
"The study's track of growth following the interview showcases how a single media appearance can lead to a substantial increase in public interest and online following," Sophie Miller, a celebrity contact agent at Booking Agent Info, told Newsweek. "Katt Williams' digital footprint [has] expanded dramatically, reflecting the power of viral content."
Denne historien er fra March 29 - April 05, 2024 (Double Issue)-utgaven av Newsweek Europe.
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Denne historien er fra March 29 - April 05, 2024 (Double Issue)-utgaven av Newsweek Europe.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Julia Stiles
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\"I'm not too worried about her not being likable.\"
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Paris Hilton & Nicole Richie
PARIS HILTON AND NICOLE RICHIE ARE READY TO BRING A LITTLE “SANASA” to the world with Peacock's Paris & Nicole: The Encore, their first project together since their reality show The Simple Life ended in 2007. What's “sanasa”? It's a song and phrase the longtime friends created as kids and popularized on The Simple Life. The show, a cultural phenomenon in the early days of reality TV, followed them over a series of blue-collar jobs. Now they're bringing it back as an opera. “I know this is just going to make people laugh, have fun, be nostalgic and just celebrate our friendship,” Hilton said. While Richie acknowledged “you can't do Simple Life again,” she said now “felt like the right time.” The famous pair also revisit some old jobs in Arkansas, like fast-food chain Sonic, where they now have drinks named for them. “I think that there is a part of our friend- ship that the show ended up showing that people connect to,” Richie said. As for this new special, Hilton is glad to do something positive for their fans. “It's been such a crazy past couple years, and I just feel like the world needs more joy.”
