Originally filed Monday, September 17, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Comic Katt Williams told the Gwinnett County police Saturday night that V-103's Wanda Smith's husband pointed a gun at him outside the Atlanta Comedy Theater in Norcross.
According to a police report, Smith's husband LaMorris Sellers said his gun had merely fallen out. He told cops he did chase Williams into a nearby supermarket but did not point a gun at him.
The incident between Sellers and Williams “stemmed from an interview that Wanda conducted with Katt previously in Atlanta,” the report said.
The Friday interview, which featured Williams and Smith roasting each other, went viral and has been seen by millions. (It also included Williams mocking Tiffany Haddish's comedic chops.)
Ski and Smith were interviewing another comic when they heard Williams was in the building and Smith convinced Williams to come into the studio. She said this was the first time she met him and she respected him as a big-time comic. She said she was shocked when he started mocking her weight, her wig and her cooking skills.
“ I am not playing victim,” Smith said Monday. “I am not a jokester like that. I don’t know how to do that. He did it. He won. It threw me off.”
Gary Abdo, the owner of Atlanta Comedy Theater, said he was in the V-103 studio when the exchange happened and said it was super tense between Smith and Williams.
This interview led to Saturday night. Outside the Atlanta Comedy Theater, where Smith regularly hosts, Williams arrived to support another comic.
Smith on the air said when Williams saw her on the sidewalk outside the club, he approached her and said, “I told you f**kin’ with me will make you go viral!” That’s when her husband got upset but on air, she said for legal reasons, she couldn’t get into it.
The police report said Williams told the cop that Sellers pointed a gun to his face. “Katt and his security guard fled [to] the Food Depot next door where the officer had his initial contact with them,” the report said.
Sellers told the cops that Williams “had a verbal altercation with Wanda. He said that Katt indicated that he wanted to fight. According to LaMorris, he approached Katt and chased him into Food Depot where he left him and returned to the Atlanta Comedy Theater. When asked if he had a gun on him, he said yes. LaMorris stated that as he was chasing Katt, his gun fell from his waistband and he bent to retrieve it however, he never pointed it at anyone.”
Video from the Food Depot showed Sellers chasing Williams but no evidence of a gun, the report said. The comedy theater management told the officer they couldn’t access the video from the club’s vantage point. UPDATE: Later that day, the cops stopped by to view the video but the alleged incident happened outside camera view. The police are still seeking witnesses who may have seen what happened.
Williams chose not to prosecute.
On V-103, some listeners supported Smith regarding the Friday interview, saying Williams' behavior was inappropriate.
"You invited hatred in," a caller said. "He did not come in love. You guys were the portal."
Others said she should be able to handle it as a fellow comic, that she “can dish it but can’t take it.”
Ski defended himself for not cutting the interview off early because he didn’t think it was problematic at the time. He also didn’t stop having the exchange go online.
“I just see two comedians going back and forth,” Ski said.
“I’m okay,” Smith said at 9:43 a.m.
If anyone has any information to share in the case involving Williams and Sellers, please contact Gwinnett County detectives at 770-513-5300. To remain anonymous, tipsters should contact Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS (8477) or visit www.crimestoppersatlanta.org. Crime Stoppers tipsters can receive up to $2,000 for information leading to an arrest and indictment in this case. The case number is 18-086331.
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