Kat Williams’ claims about joining the US Marine Corps when he was a teenager are in doubt because records do not indicate he ever enlisted.
The popular comedian has hinted at an association with the elite military force for at least the past eight years, but a Research by CBS has now aroused suspicion.
A Freedom of Information Act request filed for Williams’ records resulted in the military branch being unable to verify his claims. There is no evidence that he ever enlisted in the military or attended a training camp for Marine Corps recruits.
Army veteran Anthony Anderson called the discovery a “slap in the face to people who have earned the title of Marine.”
‘Boot camp for the Marine Corps is not an easy task. To call yourself a Marine, you must have completed at least thirteen weeks of boot camp and successfully navigated the crucible,” he told CBS.
“People have died training in boot camp trying to earn the title of Marine.”
The Emmy-winning actor has previously bragged about his alleged military experience when speaking about his personal life in video blogs, during his stand-up routines and in interviews.
In 2016, Williams addressed his allegations of drug abuse in a video in which he said, “Since I got out of the Marine Corps, I can only breathe out of one nostril.”
After years of claiming a military backstory, Katt Williams says there is no record of him ever enlisting in military service or attending recruit training camps.
He was arrested that same year and charged with disorderly conduct and battery charge after an altercation with a teenager at an apartment complex in Georgia.
Shortly after his arrest, he spoke about it on stage, suggesting he let the 17-year-old wrestler win during the fight, saying, “I’m Semper Fi (the motto of the United States Marine Corps) until I die.”
“Marine Corps b****. I graduated from motherfucking boot camp at sixteen.”
In 2023, Williams appeared on Mac Maron’s WTF podcast and told a similar story.
He said, ‘And then I try to join the Marine Corps, and I go to boot camp and I pass, and then they reveal that I’m too young, and they give me a little ceremony because I passed, you know . , oo-Rah.’
Williams’ confidently worded claims about his alleged time in the military came out to Maron’s 55 million annual listeners.
He added: “When you come back, everyone gets the ceremony and the plan was that I would probably be put in jail or court-martialed or something, but they didn’t treat me that way.
“As for the Marine Corps, whatever those commercials were selling, you remember those commercials from that time. If you wanted to join a gang, the Marines was the gang.”
In a chat earlier this year, Williams spoke with ESPN’s Shannon Sharpe on his podcast, Club Shay Shay, and talked about the comedian’s upbringing in Florida.
There is no evidence he ever enlisted in the military or attended Marine Corps training camps, according to an official who responded to the request for information.
The almost three-hour interview was viewed more than 83 million times on YouTube.
During the conversation, Williams said, “I’m trying to join the Marine Corps, and they won’t accept me because I’m too young, and I lied and said I’m 16 and my family is moving, and I don’t have my ID no, but it’s coming. And so they (the Marines) let me go to boot camp.”
The Freedom of Information Act request filed by CBS asked officials to search for his employment using his birth name Micah Sierra Williams, his Social Security number and his date of birth.
“We searched the file maintained by the Manpower Management Performance Branch but were unable to identify Mr. Williams as a member or former member of the US Marine Corps,” an official response to the request said.
If Williams’ story is true, Navy officials say there would be records of his enlistment, graduation and discharge, even if he had fraudulently enlisted as a minor.