Shannon Sharpe, our No. 1 Most Entertaining Sports Media Personality of 2023, already has everyone talking three days into 2024 after his three-hour sitdown on Club Shay Shay with comedy legend Katt Williams. The interview has already tallied over 14 million views on YouTube over two days. In what could go down as the biggest interview of the year, Katt Williams unleashed unfiltered & unapologetic commentary that set the internet ablaze.
Despite the success of the 3-hour interview, Shannon Sharpe has recieved a lot of criticism for his approach to the conversation. Some have criticized his lack of a journalistic background while others have taken jabs on his research on Katt Williams.
In response to the multitidue of viral reactions we've seen, we broke down why Shannon Sharpe doesn't deserve the backlash he's received.
Is Shannon Sharpe a good interviewer?
Shannon doesn’t follow the traditional route of interviewing but that doesn’t negatively affect his ability to interview. While there are many critics of his sitdown with Katt Williams, you have to wonder if those same critics took the time to sit down and watch the rest of his content. He’s built a major platform in Club Shay Shay off the back of sit-down interviews with celebrities. He's tallied a combined 20 million views over four episodes featuing Steve Harvey, DC Young Fly, Cedric The Entertainer, and Rickey Smiley. Some might say “oh, he’s getting big names to interview and that’s why his show is doing so well.” That’s an ignorant statement. As someone who has been in this industry for six years and has interviewed hundreds of celebrities and athletes, a name cannot carry you alone. You have to do the work. - Zion
I think the answer at this point has to be a resounding yes. I don’t care what people say, if you can get people like Steve Harvey, Cedric The Entertainer, Kirk Franklin, and Katt Williams amongst others to consistently come to your platform when your main background is in the NFL, you are doing something right. - Kam
Does this interview validate Shannon as the most entertaining person in media right now?
We recently named him the most entertaining sports media personality but he actually might have been sold short with that title. Shannon just secured what may be the most impactful and viral interview of 2024 in the first three days of the year. He has the Midas touch right now. Between First Take, Nightcap, and Club Shay Shay the man is a content generating machine. If he isn’t the most entertaining person in media right now, I need somebody to show me a person with better results. - Kam
Absolutely. Shannon Sharpe is breaking the internet on three different platforms. As our criteria stated, it is someone that triggers reaction and conversation from their content consistently. Whether it’s on ESPN with First Take, his podcast, Nightcap, with Ocho Cinco, or Club Shay Shay, Shannon always has the internet talking. Yes, 2024 just started but he’s already the frontrunner for the biggest interview of the year. Whether you like him or not, you’ve certainly ran across his content at some point. You can run but you can’t hide. - Zion
Was Shannon’s approach to the interview correct?
If you’ve watched Shannon Sharpe before, you shouldn’t be surprised from what you saw especially if you watch the beginning of the latest episode. Katt Williams specifically mentioned that he wouldn’t do interviews with anybody so those who wanted this to be like a 60 Minutes interview are just being ignorant. Shannon’s ability to connect with his interviewee on a personal level is what makes his content great. It’s a laid back conversation that mimics talks you have at the barbershop. He let Katt Williams do all the talking and when you have a figure as open as Katt, that’s what you’re supposed to do. Shannon mentioned himself that Katt started going off on his rant unprovoked before he could even get a question in. When he was unfiltered as he was, are you supposed to stop that flow? The results speak for themselves. - Zion
Every subject must be approached differently. For some, you have to pry answers out of them to get what you are looking for. Others, they come to you like an open book and just want to get something off their chest. Katt Williams clearly wanted to get something off his chest and Shannon cleared the floor for him to do so while also interjecting at moments he felt he needed to. And in doing so he secured the biggest interview of the year thus far. Perfect approach. - Kam
Are the reactions from the internet warranted?
To those people who are critiquing Shannon’s interview style, I don’t know what more you could have been looking for. Nobody was asking for a Katt Williams interview before this one happened, and once we got it, we were gifted with an interview with multiple breakout moments and content to dominate the news cycle for weeks. The interview is nearly three hours long, I’m not sure how much more ground could have or needed to be covered. - Kam
Not really. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but it's pretty annoying to see the criticism Shannon has received. He's never claimed to be a journalist. He's never claimed to be a traditional media personality. Shannon's unique approach to interviews and media in general is what makes him great. You don't have to like the interview but there was too many viral tweets, from people who have never engaged with his content, criticzing his interview skills. As I mentioned earlier, look at the numbers. No matter how you slice it, that is a successful interview. Listen, I don't know who you wanted Katt Williams to sit down with but I guarantee the majority of the names you throw out will not be able to get this interview for one and get as much content as Shannon got from this. We should be celebrating this, not nitpicking. - Zion
Do celebrities like Shannon Sharpe negatively affect the media industry with their non-traditional route of journalism?
I wouldn't say it's a negative effect on the media industry but it certainly expands the outlook on media. Remember when journalism was just limited to writing ability? Those days are long gone. To me, journalism is evolving every day whether you like it or not. With the evolution of technology and social media, journalism has grown beyond your ability to write. There are many different forms of media interviews that are dominating the space right now. When you look at popular interviews today, they are coming from names like Kai Cenat, Joe Budden, Funny Marco, and Shannon. Why? Beacuse they're doing something different that connects with an audience. If you continue the old traditional ways, you will get run over by the new age of media. That's not to say traditional interviews are dead but you have to start separating yourself from the norm if you want to be at the top. - Zion
I don’t believe so. I think media and journalism has changed so much with the advent of social media and how accessible content is. I do believe that everybody can eat in this space. Shannon isn’t a journalist and isn’t presenting himself as one. I don’t hold him to those same standards. And if I am being completely honest, I don’t think I would want Katt Williams to sit in front of one to give a more formal interview. This was the perfect space for somebody like him. Just as I believe LeBron James sitting down in front of Malika Andrews is the perfect space for him. - Kam
