Comedian Katt Williams opened up about a scripted sexual assault scene that was allegedly removed from Friday After Next, because he was strongly against it.
During a recent interview on Shannon Sharpe's Club Shay Shay podcast, Katt chatted about his first feature role as a pimp named Money Mike in the 2002 Christmas comedy, revealing he advocated to change a disturbing scene in the film.
The scene that was included in the movie featured Katt's character using the bathroom. As he was urinating, newly-released convict Damon (Terry Crews) bursts into the bathroom and threatens to sexually assault him. Damon locks the door, turns the lights off, and instructs Money Mike not to fight it and to "just let it happen." Money Mike ultimately fights him off and escapes the situation by applying some pliers to Damon's testicles.
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"The truth of the matter is, the Money Mike in the original script gets raped in the bathroom, and that's what Rickey Smiley was okay with," Katt told Shannon.
"Katt Williams had to take the risk in front of the studios, and the cast, and the powers that be — in his very first movie — and say respectfully, humbly, 'Guys, if we're talking about anything else I have no credibility and I have no pull, but we're talking about comedy, where I have all the credibility and all the pull.'"
"The problem with Friday After Next is we're trying to make a classic comedy, and this comedy involves a rape, and rape is never funny no matter who it happens to or what the circumstances are."
He went on to promise the cast and crew that if they put their trust in him, he would find a way to make the scene funnier than they ever expected, without having to see a Black man get raped.
And Katt did just that. He wrote his lines for Money Mike and ultimately became one of the most memorable and most quotable characters from the film.
To learn more about Katt, be sure to check out his full Club Shay Shay interview below:
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If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673), which routes the caller to their nearest sexual assault service provider. You can also search for your local center here.