By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com, originally filed Friday, February 27, 2015
Stand-up comic Katt Williams said the spider bite that forced him to cut short his first Philips Arena show earlier this month and not appear at all for the second was actually much worse: it had led to a dangerous, life-threatening staph infection.
He told his story to the Rickey Smiley Morning Show in a pre-recorded phone interview that aired this morning. He didn't say where the bite was but believes he got it when he was in a hotel room.
"This is only supposed to happen to white people," he cracked. "A black person is not supposed to be bit by a brown recluse spider. I wasn't in the woods. I was in a hotel! It happened the spider bite wasn't the worst of it. I didn't know I had a staph infection on top of it. That turned out to be far more dangerous."
Williams said he spent nine days at Gwinnett Medical Center recuperating but he's ready to get back on stage on Sunday for a make-up date. People who attended Sunday Feb. 8 Philips Arena show in which he didn't make it on stage at all got first dibs on their seats for the March 1 show. For those who attended the partial Saturday show, they were able to pick up the leftovers.
He said that while he was on stage Saturday Feb. 7, he was explaining his symptoms to the crowd but started really feeling those symptoms at the same time. After drinking a sip of water, he said he needed to suddenly do a No. 2. "That's about the time you pack it up as a comedian," he said.
But he said he will survive. Atlanta, he said, "has been like a hometown to me... Even if I'm going to die, this is the audience I'm going to die in front of."
Rickey Smiley Morning Show cast member Special K will open for Williams Sunday.
