Katt Williams made headlines in January 2024 with his appearance on Club Shay Shay. The interview reached 9 million YouTube views in less than 24 hours. Williams called out many of the biggest names in showbiz and put some very controversial claims on his comedic peers. The Oscar winning actor also discussed major parts of his life and career in the interview. So naturally, the episode left fans with many questions about his personal life.
Katt Williams has ten kids. He shares one biological son Micah, with ex-wife Quadirah Locus. Williams also has seven adopted kids, which he has talked about on other shows as well. According to Distractify, seven children are the half-brothers and sisters of his son, "which Katt adopted to shield them from the foster care system." Locus allegedly had a substance abuse problem.
Why Did Katt Adopt So Many?
“I got 5 daughters, I got five sons,” he shared with Shannon Sharpe. Katt Williams revealed that his decision to adopt came from a desire to give back, especially considering his own difficult childhood. Williams was raised in Dayton, Ohio by Jehovah's Witness parents. At the age of 13, he emancipated from his parents and hitchhiked to Florida. This was due to his father being opposed to him having a life outside of the Jehovah's Witnesses. He was homeless for some years, supporting himself as a street vendor. The Wild N Out alum survived by selling books and magazines and broke into cars to steal radios. He mentioned in the podcast that he always felt a bit of guilt for leaving his own siblings behind.
However, he would eventually get noticed in Hollywood with his breakout role as Money Mike in the film Friday After Next. Williams seemingly explained that because he’s "highly favored" by God and believes in the power of manifestation, he has no problem having a large family and sharing his wealth with his kids and their siblings. Before making it big in comedy, he made a promise to help others as much as he could. Williams has a net worth of around $2 million.
A Look At The Williams Family
Having such a busy schedule, Katt Williams has said that it isn’t easy raising such a large posse. Williams admitted that he wasn’t the best role model. Despite some run-ins with the law, Williams has been able to support and spend time with his ten kids. When out on multiple-city tours, Williams said he tries to schedule most of the tours on weekends during the school year and tries to be off for summers in order to spend quality time with all ten. “Basically in raising kids, you just trying to give them a better manual and an outline of how life works than your parents gave you.," he said on ...Shay Shay.
Micah Williams
If you've ever wondered how Katt Williams got his stage name, it came from an incident with his oldest biological son. Micah, (named after his father) is to blame and to bless for the cosmetic injury that eventually gave him his name. While Williams held his son above his head on one occasion, his son dropped a bottle on him, which knocked out the comedian’s two front teeth. According to The New Yorker, Williams started wearing hats in his comedy routine to cast a shadow over his mouth, covering up his teeth. Because of these hats, Williams started referring to himself as the Kat in the Hat. This later evolved into simply Katt Williams, after the comedian was almost sued by Disney for using the Dr. Suess title.
Leanne, 21
Katt Williams temporarily lost custody of his adopted daughter Leanne in 2011. This happened when her biological mother Crystal McGhee took Williams to court to pursue full custody. After he missed the court date, the court gave custody of the girl to McGhee. TMZ reported that the judge gave Katt visitation rights with alternate weekends. The judge also awarded McGhee visitation with two of Leanne's siblings. Further reports say that after Williams filed paperwork against McGhee, Leanne was later returned.