UPDATED 12:37 a.m. ET: Cassandra Williams, Paul Mooney's publicist, has denied the claims made by Rashon Kahn. "There is no validity to Rashon Kahn's statement as it relates to Mr. Paul Mooney," Williams told TMZ.
See original story below.
On Monday, an interview excerpt was posted to YouTube showing the ex-bodyguard of Richard Pryor alleging that the late comedian offered $1 million for someone to kill Paul Mooney for sleeping with Pryor's son, Richard Jr.
That bodyguard, Rashon Kahn, is the writer of an upcoming book called Everything Wasn't Funny, and he shared a rather dark anecdote which he claims was the reason that Pryor and Mooney's professional relationship and friendship ended. For those unaware Mooney, who still performs to this day, previously co-wrote material for Pryor, and was also the head writer for The Richard Pryor Show.
When asked about their relationship around the time of Pryor's death in 2005, Kahn alleged that at that point it'd been bad for nearly two decades. "From Jo Jo Dancer [1986] on their relationship became fragile because Paul Mooney had f*cked Richard's son by that time," Kahn said. At that point he states that Mooney "violated" Richard which appears to have led several media outlets to inaccurately report that whatever went on between the two was rape, though what Kahn appears to mean is Pryor's trust because, again, Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Callingcame out in '86, and Richard Jr. was born in 1962.
"So from there on, whatever Paul Mooney was to Richard, and there was a time when Paul Mooney was Richard's friend (...) so when Paul did what he did it was a violation of friendship, first, and then my son," Kahn continued. "And in some circles that's supposed to be dealt with."
When asked by the interviewer if the subject of retaliation was ever brought up, Kahn replied in the affirmative and stated that it was "to the extent that Richard didn't want [Mooney] on the planet anymore."
Kahn claimed that Pryor shared this wish with him, though Kahn believed that Richard was high at the time so he dismissed it. He thought that, within a few days, cooler heads would prevail. He said that he later asked if Richard remembered what he told him, and that the comic icon confirmed he was serious about the subject. Kahn further alleges that Pryor offered $1 million to whomever would perform the deed, and that he also detailed why he wanted the hit done.
He says that Pryor felt betrayed/hurt because it was A.) His son, and B.) His friend. Kahn says that the reason the act was never carried out is because Richard "caught on fire" which replaced his priorities. He says, if not for that, Mooney would not currently be alive.
Kahn said that he later relayed his father's intentions to Richard Jr., which caused the son to cry because he was unaware that his dad knew what had transpired.
You can watch the interview above.
