Brooks Jackson Colyar, A Former Close Friend and Confidant of Katt Williams Speaks On The Recent Arrests and Heartbreaking Stories Surrounding The Comedian
Katt Williams arrested! That headline has become the unfortunate and all too common tagline in entertainment news these days. In fact, Williams was arrested three times in three weeks recently. Most recently he was arrested for throwing a salt shaker at a manager of a restaurant he was visiting. And he was actually already in police custody when he was arrested on March 11th. One of his latest charges is entering an automobile, theft by taking, and simple battery in Georgia. Williams also still has an open robbery case from an incident involving Suge Knight from a year ago.
He’s funny, kind; I can not say too many good things about him. That is why I am so worried for him right now… This isn’t the person I got to know so well.
-Brooks Jackson Colyar
When he’s not getting arrested he’s finding other ways to get himself video taped saying or doing something crazy. Just last week he was caught on video throwing a punch at a teen, before he ends up in a choke hold on the ground.
While it may seem like for the last few years Williams has been fighting case after case in court, according to his former personal assistant and former good friend, Brooks Jackson Colyar, the incidents and the details around these incidents “are getting stranger.”
“I was in court many a time with Katt,” Brooks Jackson explains. Brooks worked as Katt Williams’ personal assistant from fall of 2012 to February 2015. “It seems out of control,” Brooks continues. “Yes, Wiliams does react strongly when he feels someone has disrespected him, but never like what I have been hearing lately. I am really worried about him. I don’t think the people around him are taking care of him like he deserves to be taken care of.”
Colyar has known Williams for a long time, and left his camp on good terms. “When my employment contract ended, it was time for me to leave. But we parted ways as friends. I would never say anything against Williams. How could I? He saved my life,” Colyar says definitively.
Colyar joined Williams’ team after her marriage to comedian, Michael Colyar suddenly fell apart. “Katt and I met years ago at the beginning of his career; he opened for my ex-husband. I remember sitting in the back of a limo with him listening to Jazz music, and that was my last meeting with him one-on-one until 2012,” she recalls. “I was going through a divorce; I didn’t have a job because I worked for my ex; I was at the end of my rope; I couldn’t get out of bed; I was just faking so no one would know what was going on inside.
“I was married for 28 years: I thought we were happy and I found out we weren’t happy when he said he was leaving, just days before our anniversary. I was devastated. I just prayed and one day I woke up and something said reach out to Katt. I emailed Katt and he called back within a few hours. I told him I was going through a divorce and I needed a job. He said ‘meet me after my show and you have a job.’” Colyar says her life changed for the better after that call.
“He saved my life because I was totally devastated and then he came with all the right words. It worked out perfectly; I regained my self esteem and I really credit him with helping me.”
Once she started working for Williams, Colyar handled an array of things—and she not only worked out of his house, she lived there. “I was helping to manage his tour, he was about to go on the road in Oct. 2012, so I interviewed people for him, people he was interested in working for him. I did background checks for people coming into his organization; I recorded his workouts; I went to meetings with him. If he moved, I moved,” she explains. “It was my job to make sure he was where he needed to be, I made sure he had everything packed when we traveled, down to his last pair of tennis shoes. It was the best job I ever had. And since I lived and worked out of his home, I got to see the other side of Katt.”
According to Colyar, Williams’ public image is not like his private image. “Katt Williams is a genius and he’s one of the most generous men I have ever met. I can tell you so many stories of his generosity. He liked to take care of people. That’s why I think he must be under a lot of stress now. Worrying about everyone and not sleeping and he might not have the support system in place to make sure he’s being taken care of,” Colyar believes.
Prior to working with Katt Williams, Brooks Jackson Colyar, worked as a producer of a number of TV projects and tours for her ex husband, such as Michael Colyar’s Comedy Extravaganza with Mike P At The Fitz. “I learned so much from Katt. I can say I am a better producer because of my experience with him. When he’s doing a new routine he will lock himself down and not stop until he has it as perfect as possible. He stays focused. But he was never a mean employer; he was always the type of person that people wanted to be around. He’s funny, kind; I can not say too many good things about him. That is why I am so worried for him right now.”
Colyar, who is now producing her own female comedy tour on U.S. military bases, said her time working with Williams was “fantastic.” “I got paid unbelievably; he paid me over the top, I thought The fringe benefits were amazing—we traveled all over, the people I met were amazing, and I met some really crazy people too. But that was all part of the whole Katt Williams experience. I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” she says. “It wasn’t all fun and games; it was a lot of hard work. It was also a learning experience. He makes $250,000 when he steps on the stage, so it was a totally different level than when I worked with my ex. Williams was the boss and one thing he said when I was hired was he was going to show me how to my own money.”
Reconciling her experience to what’s she’s been reading now about Williams’ is not possible, she says. “This isn’t the person I got to know so well. Police say they found drugs and guns in his home recently. Well, when I was there many of us had prescriptions for marijuana. So if that’s the drug, then I know it was prescribed by a doctor. And yes, Katt has guns. He has his guns in a gun cabinet, locked away. He even owned antique guns. Remember at one time his kids were living with him, so there were no guns just lying around; they were all licensed and under lock and key,” Colyar recalls. “I have never really known Katt to use drugs—I lived with him. And I have had my own past experience with drugs and my ex used drugs, so I know what drug use looks like and I didn’t see any of that in Katt’s house or from Katt. Even at one point he was apparently diagnosed as being bipolar, and even then he did not rely on medication He worked out, avoided stress, and ate right.”
But according to Colyar, there have been times when she had seen Williams provoked. “When Katt feels he’s been disrespected, well then that’s when a different Katt surfaces. But people are always trying to provoke him for monetary gains,” she explains. “I remember one time this white guy came up to me and asked me to help him get Williams to punch him and he would pay me $500. You couldn’t pay me any amount of money to do something like that to Katt. But this is the kind of thing that was always happening and if Katt doesn’t have people around him who have his best interests in heart, then anything can happen. Katt also gets death threats constantly. People text him and threatened him telling him they know where he will be. Katt is always changing his phone because of this.” And, Colyar says she feels race plays into it. “Here is Katt Williams, a successful Black man making a lot of money, and some people can’t handle this and want to make trouble for him,” Colyar says bluntly.
Brooks Jackson Colyar says she wishes she could get in touch with Williams, but can’t get through the new channels of people around him. “I left as his friend and I want to remain a friend. When my contract was up he actually asked me for an extra 90 days which I gave him and at the time there were new people coming into the camp, and he was moving into his mansion so I was trying to phase out my work,” she says. “In fact the weekend I left it was my birthday and he gave me a very generous birthday present. Then not long after he got sick and I reached out to them and that was the last time I spoke with him. There seems to be a lot of chaos around him. And an entourage. When I was with him there was just me, another assistant, and a security guard. And we only went out when we had a purpose to go out—to workout, to a meeting. He was staying in.”
According to Colyar, her concern has compelled her to speak out. “I am a very private person and I would never want to say anything to upset Katt because he was so good to me. He saved my life! I want to keep my friendship with him intact. But I am hoping that by me talking out someone around him will step up and start taking control of the situation and make sure he is sleeping and being cared for,” she says.
And if she could talk to him directly, she would tell him, “Whatever he needs, I am here. I love and care for him. I will always be here for him when he needs. Katt is worth saving, and I just hope this happens.”
Brooks solo image credit: Johnny Pena Photography
Brooks Jackson Colyar & Katt Williams credit: Koi Sojer
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