Marlon Wayans Slams Katt Williams’ ‘Toxic’ Criticism of Black Male Comedians Wearing Dresses: ‘I Wore a Dress’
Katt Williams’ industry-shaking Club Shay Shay interview has had every comedian responding.
Marlon Wayans doesn’t side with Katt Williams when it comes to Black male comedians wearing dresses in their material.
Weeks after Williams’ controversial interview with Shannon Sharpe on Club Shay Shay kicked off 2024 with a bang, Wayans stopped by REAL 92.3’s radio show, Big Boy’s Neighborhood, where he blasted Williams’ “toxic” comments about his peers wearing dresses.
“I’m tired of the rhetoric of, ‘Oh, you sold out in Hollywood ’cause you wore a dress,” Wayans said around the 30-minute mark of the video above. “Negro, I wore a dress, it’s called ‘White Chicks.’ You know what we did? We did a classic.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Kai-Wayans-Marlon-Wayans-021325-47af8c21c9cc41bca1ec7396754cf53a.jpg)
He was referring to the 2004 comedy that starred him and his brother, Shawn Wayans, portraying themselves as white women. Wayans added, “Only Black people sit there and go, ‘Man, our brothers wearing dresses.'”
Wayans also pointed out the double standards, saying, “Oh, so white people when they wear dresses… when Robin Williams wears a dress in ‘Mrs. Doubtfire,’ he’s brilliant. when Tom Hanks wears a dress in Bosom Buddies, oh, he’s brilliant. Right? When Dustin Hoffman wears a dress in Tootsie, he wins an Oscar.”
“Black people, soon as we put on a dress, we start tearing each other down. This is art, this is comedy. You think I’m gonna tear down Flip Wilson? You think I’m gonna tear down Tyler Perry? I’m not gonna tear down any of these brothers. It’s comedy, and we should embrace our comedy – all of it. We shouldn’t have one type of humor. We should embrace all of our humor.”
Wayans’ criticism comes after opening up about his trans son. The comedian discussed the “painful” journey at length during an appearance on The Breakfast Club last November.
“I have a daughter that transitioned into a son,” Wayans said around the 14-minute mark of the interview. “My daughter Amai is now Kai, and so, I talk about the transition. Not her, his… their transition, but my transition as a parent, going from ignorance and denial to complete unconditional love and acceptance.”
Commending Wayans – who will next star in an upcoming Jordan Peele-produced horror – was Dwyane Wade, whose eldest daughter, Zaya, is trans.
