Shannon Sharpe Responds To Criticism That He Didn’t Ask Katt Williams Enough Follow Up Questions During Viral Interview: ‘I’m A Conversationalist, Not An Interviewer’

Shannon Sharpe, Katt Williams

Shannon Sharpe Responds To Criticism That He Didn’t Ask Katt Williams Enough Follow Up Questions During Viral Interview: ‘I’m A Conversationalist, Not An Interviewer’

Media personality Shannon Sharpe has been hearing the negative chatter about the way he conducted his popular talk with Katt Williams.

The podcaster recently addressed those criticizing him about his lack of journalism skills, making it clear that formal discussions are never his intention.

Shannon Sharpe

During an episode of his podcast Nightcap, which he hosts with former NFL’er Chad Ochocinco, Shannon Sharpe fought back at those calling him out because they felt he didn’t ask enough follow up questions while speaking to Katt Williams. He claimed the comedian intentionally came to his growing talk series Club Shay Shay due to the freedom guests have to say whatever they want in a comfortable environment. Additionally, Sharpe says he purposefully invites people on his show for a friendly conversation, not an intense interview. He stated:

“A lot of people have said ‘Oh Shannon left so much on the table. Shannon is not a journalist.’ I never said I was a journalist. If you listen in my intro…normally what I say, ‘the person that’s coming by for a conversation and a drink.’ I’m a conversationalist, not an interviewer. It’s a different space.”

Adding:

“I’ve also said on numerous occasions, if you want 60 minutes, if you want Dateline, if you want 48 hours I’m not the place for you. Go to those places and get those type of interviews…that’s not who I am! So if you want those type of interviews, you need to go to places that have those type of interviews.”

Shannon Sharpe goes off on the haters and the people criticizing him for not asking follow-up questions during the Katt Williams interview.

(? @NightcapShow_ ) pic.twitter.com/uRBoG5KgtA

— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) January 5, 2024

The podcaster went on to theorize that all the criticism actually has nothing to do with his hosting techniques, but rather irritation that one of his episodes has blown up so quickly. Sharpe highlighted some of his previous guests that had viral moments during their discussion, such as Steve Harvey, Rickey Smiley, and DC Young Fly, arguing that nobody had a problem with the way he led those sit downs. However, with Williams episode now surging to more than 14 million views in less than 48 hours, with the others momentarily peaking at 9 million, 3 million, and 4 million respectively, the former sports analyst says folks are just hating on his shows rising success. He continued:

“I’ve had a lot of people. Nobody said anything about push back and follow up questions until I got Katt Williams on. And this thing went, took off like wild fire…You’re upset that he said everything that he said, and he said it on my platform, and now it’s bringing attention to my platform….nothing has caught fire like this. This is what’s upsetting them.”

As we’ve recently been covering, Sharpe and Williams‘ conversation has been trending since it was released earlier this week. Topics such as his ongoing beef with Cedric The Entertainer over an alleged stolen joke and Ludacris allegedly being in the illuminati have kept social media users talking about the episode non stop. He even touched on the shooting trial between Megan Thee Stallion and Tory Lanez as well as rap star Kanye West’s controversial past couple of years.

Despite Williams attracting so much attention, according to Sharpe, some have argued that they didn’t feel his show was the best fit for the discussion. He says people have been slamming him for not being a journalist and some have even compared his show to Yung Miami’s podcast series Caresha Please.

However, Sharpe has clarified that serious journalism was never why he created the platform in the first place.

Did you see a problem with the way Shannon Sharpe did the Katt Williams interview? Let us know in the comments below!