Earlier this week, longtime funnyman Damon Wayans challenged another vet, Dave Chappelle, to a comedy-style “Verzuz” that quickly sparked fans’ interest on social media. Though it’s uncertain whether the quarantine-born musical competition event will ever feature comedians, it doesn’t stop folks on the internet from conjuring up other comedic matchups they’d like to see go head to head.
On Tuesday, Aug. 17, a Twitter user shared a side-by-side photo of comedians Katt Williams and Kevin Hart in response to a post regarding Wayans and Chappelle with the caption, “The culture needs this roast battle.” It was later requoted by Twitter user @MsJazzybelle, who replied, “Really don’t.” She added, “Kevin can not and would not survive Katt on any stage.”
The post has since gone viral, racking up nearly 88,000 likes and another 18,000 retweets, of folks expressing who they thought would take the crown in a potential comedy-style “Verzuz.”
Many argued that both men were highly skilled in the art of “roasting” and shared clips to prove their points. One fan shared Williams’ viral interview where he got into a verbal altercation with former radio host Wanda Smith during V-103’s former “Frank and Wanda in the Morning” radio show. Williams skewered Smith following their seemingly innocent on-air banter. However, it quickly escalated into a brutal swap of insults, with Smith getting the worst of the exchange.
On the other hand, fans of the “Fatherhood” star reflected on the time early in the actor’s career where he had rapper Meek Mill and his entire entourage on the brink of tears.
“Eh.. outside of Katt being mad that Kevin wore a dress on SNL, what is he gonna say?” argued one fan in support of Hart. “Meanwhile.. Kev can talk about how he got beat up by a child. The drug use. The fall off. Just saying.”
However, a Williams fan noted, “Kevin literally divorced his wife that held him down while he was on the come up, married his side chick then cheated on her too. I’m sure Katt could come up with some material off that. Not to mention Kevin’s dad being on drugs.”
Still, there were some that contended you can’t compete where you don’t compare, citing that the two men’s styles were so different that a “Verzuz” battle wouldn’t make much sense.
“They both do totally different styles of comedy,” one critic wrote. “Kevin’s comedy is life based, he’s a story teller and he has that awkward asshole thing going. Katt is funny in his sleep. He can roast, talk shit, he’s observational and you’ll get a good story. Way different comedians.”
The two stars haven’t been on the best of terms over the years as Williams often has criticized Hart’s talents. He allegedly accused the “Night School” star of being selected by Hollywood to become a star as opposed to having earned it. Furthermore, Hart replaced Williams in the film “Fools Gold” after the “Boondocks” voice star could not film due to legal issues. According to YouTube’s “Comedy Hype,” this makes for the first instance of a potential rift between Williams and Hart.
