Club Shay Shay - Brad Williams Part 1

Summary

Club Shay Shay – Brad Williams (Part 1)

Date: April 8, 2026
Host: Shannon Sharpe
Guest: Brad Williams (Comedian)

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Episode Overview

This episode of Club Shay Shay features stand-up comedian, actor, and podcast host Brad Williams. Shannon Sharpe and Brad dive deep into Brad’s experiences as a little person in comedy, his upbringing, career journey, handling misconceptions, perspectives on humor and offense, and the influence of his late father. The exchange is equal parts hilarious and heartfelt, with candid stories and sharp observations about society, comedy, and life with a disability.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Brad’s Comedy Identity and Misconceptions

• Beards, Dwarves, and Identity (03:55–04:41):

  • Brad explains how having a beard helps people see him as an adult.
    • “When I’m clean shaven, everyone thinks I’m five.” (Brad Williams, 03:56)
  • Shannon shares a childhood story about mistaking an adult little person for a child.

• Mix-ups with Fellow Little People (08:11–09:47):

  • Brad gets mistaken for other famous little people (Peter Dinklage, Wee Man).

  • Quote on collective responsibility:
    "If Dinklage is on the Epstein list, we're all..." (Brad Williams, 08:36)

  • “Now I’m friends with Wee Man... he’s actually starting to get some people walking up to him saying, ‘Are you Brad Williams?’ That was the greatest news I’d ever heard in my entire life.” (Brad Williams, 12:05)

2. Navigating Life and Fame as a Little Person

• Public Encounters and Etiquette (14:33–15:08):

  • Brad jokes about photo protocol with fans:

    • “Just don’t put your arm on my head, okay? My head’s not your goddamn armrest. Remember, I’m at the perfect height to punch you in the dick.” (Brad Williams, 14:46)

  • On being picked up by fans: absolutely not okay.

• Being Mistaken for a Child (16:07–17:39):

  • Brad recounts how kids are confused by his size and how parents of different races handle it.

    • “Black kids are the most honest. If it comes up, it’s coming out, Brad.” (Shannon Sharpe, 16:52)

    • “1% of the time [kids] are like, ‘Yeah, but you’re still short as fuck.’ And then I gotta put my foot through the kid. And that’s rare, but it happens.” (Brad Williams, 17:33)

3. Family Influence and Upbringing

• Preparation for Teasing (18:42–20:19):

  • Brad’s father (not a little person) prepped him with comebacks to handle teasing.

    • “My dad was a trial attorney, so he had the gift of gab... My dad and I would write comebacks.” (Brad Williams, 18:55)
    • Example comeback on the first day:
      “A kid walked up, went like, ‘Haha, you’re little.’ And I went, ‘Haha, your mom doesn’t live with your dad anymore.’” (Brad Williams, 19:35)

  • Lesson: prepare for “the world that is, not the world that should be.”

• Sibling and Parental Dynamics (21:47–23:38):

  • Brad's sister is average-sized; his parents gave equal discipline and expectations.

  • “Equal punishments.” (Brad Williams, 30:18)

  • On discipline:
    “If I started it, I was in trouble. If I finished it, good job. We’re going out to Sizzler that night.” (Brad Williams, 31:14)

4. Disability, Comedy, and Culture

• Navigating 'Cancel Culture' and Offense (38:52–47:24):

  • Brad defends comedians’ right to attempt jokes, noting audiences dictate what works.

    • “Freedom of speech does not exist for the speech you agree with. First Amendment is there for the speech you disagree with.” (Brad Williams, 41:10)

  • Commentary on offended audiences:

    • “It almost seems now that people go to things to be offended.” (Shannon Sharpe, 45:23)
    • “If you post a clip where a whole audience is laughing, then it’s funny, no matter what you thought.” (Brad Williams, 45:48)

• Disabled Humor & Shared Struggle (43:21–44:36):

  • “Really good jokes come from struggle, and really good sense of humor comes from struggle.” (Brad Williams, 43:24)
  • Disabled people are rarely the offended ones; often, it’s someone “on their behalf.”

5. Career Journey and Milestones

• Specials, Stand-Up, and 'Live on Short Street' (07:22–08:01):

  • Brad’s special, Live on Short Street, is named after a theater on Short Street; reflects his high-energy humor and rapid-fire jokes.

  • “I tell jokes for people that have ADD. If you don’t like a joke, wait 12 seconds, there’s another one coming.” (Brad Williams, 07:44)

• Early Jobs and Comedy Start (55:38–63:14):

  • Worked at Hot Topic and as a character host at Disneyland (“not one of the seven” dwarves – 56:35–57:13).

  • Initial break: Carlos Mencia called Brad on stage after telling dwarf jokes – Brad got laughs and was hooked on stand-up.

    • “He called me up on stage... my answers got laughs. I wasn’t trying to be funny.” (Brad Williams, 62:12)

  • Wanted to be a sports announcer; left college a year early for comedy.

• Dwarf Conventions and Dating (10:53–12:19):

  • Hilarious tales of “dwarf conventions,” where he says little people find their “hot” moment.
    • “For a week... you go to the dwarf convention and you’re hot, Shannon.” (Brad Williams, 11:13)

6. Challenges, Loss, and Fatherhood

• Parenthood and Next Generation (21:15–21:44):

  • Brad’s daughter also has dwarfism. He plans to raise her as his father raised him.

• Father’s Illness and Legacy (47:57–52:31):

  • Brad’s father survived skin cancer but later died from ALS.
    • “My dad got to see me film specials. He got to see me get married, have a kid... So he saw it.” (Brad Williams, 50:57)
    • “My father passed away, I was wrecked, but I’m lucky because I had a dad that caused that kind of grief.” (Brad Williams, 52:10)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote/Moment | |-----------|---------|--------------| | 03:56 | Brad Williams | “If I’m clean shaven, everyone thinks I’m five.” | | 08:36 | Brad Williams | “If Dinklage is on the Epstein list, we’re all...” (about collective responsibility among little people) | | 14:46 | Brad Williams | “My head's not your goddamn armrest. Just remember, I’m at the perfect height to punch you in the dick.” | | 16:52 | Shannon Sharpe | “Black kids are the most honest. If it comes up, it’s coming out, Brad.” | | 18:55 | Brad Williams | “My dad and I would write comebacks... so if the kid says this and I say this, then say that.” | | 19:35 | Brad Williams | “‘Haha, you’re little.’ And I went, ‘Haha, your mom doesn’t live with your dad anymore.’” | | 41:10 | Brad Williams | “Freedom of speech does not exist for the speech you agree with. First Amendment is there for the speech you disagree with.” | | 43:24 | Brad Williams | “Really good jokes come from struggle, and really good sense of humor comes from struggle.” | | 62:12 | Brad Williams | “He called me up on stage... my answers got laughs. I wasn’t trying to be funny.” | | 50:57 | Brad Williams | “My dad got to see me film specials. He got to see me get married, have a kid... So he saw it.” |

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• Beard, Identity, and Childhood Stories — 03:55–04:41
• Dwarf Conventions & Dating — 10:53–12:19
• Photo Requests & Fan Encounters — 14:33–15:08
• Parental Preparation for Teasing — 18:42–20:19
• Cancel Culture, Offense in Comedy — 38:52–47:24
• Career Start at Disneyland / Hot Topic — 55:38–57:13
• First Standup Experience — 62:12–63:14
• Dad’s Illness and Passing — 47:57–52:31
• Handling Joke Theft — 71:45–76:05
• Mentors and Hardest Comedians to Follow — 76:05–79:39

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Tone and Language

The conversation is fast-paced, irreverent, self-aware, and unflinching. Brad’s comedy is high-energy, honest, and daring; both host and guest are open, occasionally raw, but always aiming for humor, connection, and insight. Brad’s attitude toward difference is both self-effacing and empowering, reflecting both his lived experience and comedic skills.

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Recap for New Listeners

This episode provides a comprehensive, entertaining insight into Brad Williams’ journey through standup, life as a little person, and the nature of comedy in a rapidly shifting cultural landscape. There are belly laughs and poignant moments—especially regarding family, loss, and being true to yourself. Both Williams and Sharpe tackle difficult themes with warmth, candor, and a big dose of humor.

To continue the conversation with Brad Williams, head to Part 2 on your preferred podcast platform.

Transcript

[T-Mobile/US Cellular Advertiser]

Why do we try so hard?

[Brad Williams]

So I can breathe. Why do you need to breathe?

[Shannon Sharpe]

So I can think.

[Brad Williams]

If I can breathe.

[Shannon Sharpe]

If I can breathe, I can think.

[Brad Williams]

I can think. If I can think if I can think, then I can win.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Make the Beast Rated R in Futures

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[Shannon Sharpe]

I can't tell you how many times I've spilled something on my shirt right before walking out the door. And it's always while I'm wearing a white shirt too. And somehow that's the exact moment I realize I'm out of stain remover and I don't have another clean shirt to change into. Unpredictable moments like that are a part of everyday life. Luckily, Amazon helps make it easier to manage life's curve balls. From unexpected needs to everyday essentials. Amazon offers everything in one place with reliable value and great prices. So when a small mess turns into a last minute problem, Amazon makes it easier by saving the every day, Liberty

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[Brad Williams]

Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I'm Daniel Alarcon and this is my friend. He's much more famous than I am. I wouldn't go that far, but I'm

[Brad Williams]

John Green, co host of the podcast

[Shannon Sharpe]

the Awareness End with my old friend Daniel. On our podcast the Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World cup together We'll find out why. Of all the unimportant things, football, soccer is the most important. Listen to the away end with Daniel Alarcon and John green on the iHeartRadio

[Brad Williams]

app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. I would have played a dwarf in the live action Snow White movie, but then they took out the dwarves. Thanks, Dinklage. Do you know that you took work away from me? It's Snow White and the seven dwarves. It's literally the part I was made to play. And they CGI the dwarfs. Could you imagine if they're doing 12 Years a Slave and all the slaves are CGI black people, how mad you would be?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Brad Williams]

Just know that when Peter Dinklage says, you shouldn't do this to little people because it's offensive that he is in that movie, that is all I will say about that. All my life been grinding all my life Sacrifice, hustle, paid the price, wanna slice got to roll the dice that's why all my life I been grinding all my life Look. All my life been grinding all my life Sacrifice, hustle, paid the price, wanna slice, got the rolling dice that's why all my life I've been grinding all my life.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Hello, welcome to another episode of Club Shay Shay. I am your host, Shannon Sharp. I'm also the proprietor of Club Shay. Shay speaking. Stopping by for conversation on the drink Today is one of comedy's most sharpest and original voices. He has one of the most watched standup specials on YouTube. He sells out theaters worldwide by fiercely sharing his personal stories. He's a world famous standup comedian, an accomplished actor, popular podcast host, a trained verbal assassin, a powerhouse father and a husband. New York Times said, no one is doing standup comedy more hilarious than this man. Please welcome to the show. Brad Williams.

[Brad Williams]

I made it. I made it to the club.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You are the club.

[Brad Williams]

I didn't get carded or nothing. That's cause the beard though. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I have to keep a beard if I'm clean shaven. Everyone thinks I'm five.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You know what? I got a funny story. When I was growing up in my hometown of Glenville, Georgia, there was a little person, I don't know his real name, proper terminology.

[Brad Williams]

Look at that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That ain't what they called him back then.

[Brad Williams]

No, no, no, I know it wasn't. It's okay.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And he had a beard and I was looking at him and like my size and I said, papa, why that boy? Why he got a beard? And I never seen him in class. I said, why? He got a beard.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And he said, that's a grown man. Say, how you a grown man? So. And I was scared of him. Every time I would see him, I would turn and go the other way. Once I found he was a grown man.

[Brad Williams]

What you're talking about right now is when I drop my daughter off for the first day of school, the kids are very confused because I dropped the. I drop her off, and then I walk away. They're like, well, why is he walking away? He's got to stay here. And then I get into a car. They're like, he has a car? How. This is a. Get a car. This is amazing. We are sitting across from each other, and it is amazing that we are the same species. This is very str. This is like. This is like a Doberman being next to a Chihuahua. This is like, you're sitting up. They offered me cushions to sit on the back of this. I'm like, I can't.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, you didn't want your feet. Dang.

[Brad Williams]

No. I can't be back, kid. Like, Shannon, let me tell you, it's been a rough Road these 20 years. I can't do that, man. I can't.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But I appreciate you coming, man. I appreciate the time. Because when I hit you up, I said, you know, I told you who I was and what I had.

[Brad Williams]

Oh, I know who you are.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's exactly what you say.

[Brad Williams]

Yes. Because first of all, I wrote my manager. Cause I'm like, all right, someone hacked Shannon's profile, or someone's posing as Shannon. I'm like, shannon is not sliding into my DMs. And that's probably your notes, But I'm a lifelong Broncos fan, and there's a video on Bronco's social media of us actually dapping up. You probably thought it was a make a wish, kid, but I was on the side of the field. And then you. It was like the 20 year of the 98 team.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay, okay, yeah, yeah.

[Brad Williams]

And, yeah, you saw me. And you're like, all right, that guy's got about a week left to live. Let's go jack me up. And. Yeah. And you. And you dapped me up and that. And that was great. Now, I'm going to tell you right now, I'm not a cognac guy. I've never tried it. This could be my first cognac. Well, I'm honored.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Thank you. This is actually for your special that's coming out on YouTube. Let me know what you think. It's a cognac VSOP. Very special old pale. It is the best.

[Brad Williams]

Now this is grapes, right? Mm. Oh, that's smooth.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Very.

[Brad Williams]

No shit. Okay.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Brad Williams]

Cause there are some athletes. I'm not going to say their names. I'm not going to talk about Charles Woodson like that. Who put their names on alcohol? And then it's not that good.

[Shannon Sharpe]

He has, he. He has a bourbon and a wine.

[Brad Williams]

He's got. He. I'm not a wine guy. I had the wine, but I had the bourbon. The bourbon is good. Yes. So. But yeah, this is, this is smooth. Oh, you're gonna try to get me to talk shit. Shannon Sharp. You're gonna get me all. All yacked up and, and see Cat Williams is just happy I'm on this show. He's like, thank God I'm not the shortest guy on club anymore. Until you, until you get Kev. He's about 4 inches smaller than me.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Kev. Smaller than you. So you got, you got a special coming out on YouTube April 12th called live on Short Street.

[Brad Williams]

Yes.

[Shannon Sharpe]

What. What can. Without giving away too much, what the people expect.

[Brad Williams]

Oh, man. First of all, we called it Live on Short street cuz we shot it in Lexon, Kentucky and the theater was literally on Short Street. Okay. So I didn't know that when I booked the theater.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Brad Williams]

Like you think that I'd be like, no, but it, it, it just happened to be that way. So I'm like, oh, come on, man. It's like, it's meant to be. Yes. And people can expect a lot of high energy. I've got ADD. I tell jokes for people that have ADD. If you don't like a joke, wait 12 seconds, there's another one coming. Totally fine.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So yeah, there was. There. I don't know if did you get this, but there was a video. There was a picture out of Diddy and Meek Mill with a little person.

[Brad Williams]

So when this picture came out, okay, it's Diddy. It's a little person. It's Meek Mill. For the clip they will put in the photo right there.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Brad Williams]

I got so many DMs being like, yo, what were those? Diddy party like. And I'm like, that's not me. It doesn't look like. See, that's the thing with little people. We all have to be. We all have to be minding our P's and Q's. If one of us up, like, if Dinklage is on the Epstein list, we're all.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Or we man.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah, we man does some shit wrong. We're all. So we all got to Be good. So I don't know who that dwarf was in in between Diddy and Meek Mill, but Rip.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But you did. You. You ended up putting a statement out like, bro, that ain't me.

[Brad Williams]

That ain't me. I got so many DMs. I got like. And I'm like, you could put the photo right next to each other, right? It's fine. You're not. You're not gonna see the.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You're gonna see where there's no res.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah, it's like. Like, that'd be like. If someone put up a photo of Tony Gonzalez and be like, shannon. It's like. No, it's fun.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Well, they do say that. You know how they do us. They say all black people look alike. So I guess all little people.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah, we all look alike. And it sucks because most of the time I get mad and, like, we don't look alike. But then sometimes I hang out with weed, man. I'm like, I look like you.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah. You and Dinklage got the beard.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You might need to shave. Hey, you might have to shave it.

[Brad Williams]

No, I'm not shaving it. I look seven. I get carded. I have look somewhat manly sitting next to you and your 60 year old biceps that are bigger than me. What the hell? You look like you have two of me in your shirt right now. That is ridiculous.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You know, I don't work out like I used to. You still work out. You still work.

[Brad Williams]

I'm trying. I'm trying. I do Pilates. I wear yoga pants and the Pilates.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You do Pilates?

[Brad Williams]

Yes.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They don't have a machine you can't fit on the Reformer.

[Brad Williams]

Yes, I am. I'm on the Reformer. It looks like I'm in a medieval torture chain. I mean, like, tarred and feathered, just like being pulled in all these different directions. But I do Pilates. I wear the tight pants because. Shannon, listen, I'm not that strong. Yeah, but my ass looks great in yoga pants. Look at that ass. That is a Don Quesetta right there. That is an ass. Dwarfs have great asses.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah. You know what? I can't disagree with you.

[Brad Williams]

Oh, do you go on Onlyfans?

[Shannon Sharpe]

No, I stay away from that. But I don't.

[Brad Williams]

Are you looking at the dwarf asses?

[Shannon Sharpe]

But let me ask you a question. When you were growing up, I mean, you have an average sized wife, were you attracted to little people?

[Brad Williams]

Hell, yeah. Oh, I've. I've laid waste to some little women out there.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Oh, my God.

[Brad Williams]

I had days. Oh, okay. Shannon, let me tell you about dwarf conventions.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Brad Williams]

Dwarf conventions are a real thing. There. There's. There's the ones.

[Shannon Sharpe]

There used to be one at Reno. The little.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah. So there used to, like, the big ones every summer. And that. That's when all little people gather in one hotel. I always feel weird about people that show up to that hotel that are just there, right. On a trip, and they just walk in going, what that thought.

[Shannon Sharpe]

He.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah, that gummy was way too strong. What happened here? They think they're in Oz, but. And they like to dress up the conventions, like, oh, it's about meeting people. It's about togetherness. It's about discovery. It's. But it's about bone. And Shannon. It's about bone in Bunch of dwarves. One hotel. Cause for a week, like, all the rest of the year, you're the friend zone. You're the little guy, the little girl, everyone's friend, all the bridesmaid, never the bride. Then you go to the dwarf convention and you're hot, Shannon. Then you're like. Then you're like, you in 97 after you won the game. And you're just walking out there and you're just like, ah, it's great. Oh, I've more dwarf women than high curbs.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Have mercy.

[Brad Williams]

Right?

[Shannon Sharpe]

I don't know. We might have to edit this out, because we're going to get you divorced.

[Brad Williams]

No, no, no. My wife. It's okay. She knew. She knew I was a crazy freak back in the day. And then I met her and. And you look at my wife, and that's how you know I'm funny, right? Because you look at my wife, you're like, there's no way that little. Got that woman.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Brad Williams]

Without something women like.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Women like funny people. They like funny men.

[Brad Williams]

Make them make laugh, make them breakfast. That was my.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You. You do get. You do get confused for, like. Like, you mentioned Peter Dinklage, Wee Man. Does it. Does it offend you? Does it get upset? Like, bro, that's all you know? I'm Brad.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I'm not Dinklage. I'm not. I'm not Wee Man.

[Brad Williams]

You know what? It didn't offend me back in the day, but now that I've actually got somebody, you're somebody.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Brad Williams]

And like, if you come up to me and you say, oh, Brad Williams, can I get a photo if I'm not with my family? Yes, you're going to get all the photos, autographs, whatever you want. But then if you come up and say, wee Man. Right. Can we get a photo Nah, you're not getting it. I don't care if you correct yourself. No, not getting it. But now I'm friends with Wee man because, you know, we all know each other. And now he's actually starting to get some people walking up to him saying, are you Brad Williams? That was the greatest news I'd ever heard in my entire life. I'm not past him yet, but I'm working on it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

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[Brad Williams]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And they kneel down, do you get offended? Like, no, bro, stand up.

[Brad Williams]

No, no, no, I'm good. Kneel down. Stand up. What gets, what gets me mad is when they go, I'll get down to your level. And they kneel down. They got bad knees and then they kneel down and you hear the pops and you're like, oh, God, now you're going to be down there forever, right? Yeah, that, like, stand up, kneel down. Totally fine. Just don't put your arm on my head, okay? My head's not your goddamn armrest. Just remember I'm at the perfect height to punch you in the dick. So do not do that, okay? Secondly, never, under any circumstances pick me up.

[Shannon Sharpe]

People ask all the time like, Mike Tyson has bull.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah, Hezbollah. That. So that. That clip is so funny. Mike thought. Mike thought he was seven.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Brad Williams]

He's like, he he's like, giving him raspberries. Mike Tyson's going, and he's a grown ass man. And Hezbollah's not saying shit because that's Mike Tyson, right? Dude, one time I'm at the Hollywood Improv and I do my set, and then I go to the green room, which is up some stairs, and I open the green room door, and it's just, Mike Tyson in your green room. In the green room. And that's it. Yeah, it's him. And, like, a manager guy. And he just looks right at me like, oh, my God, that was so funny. Do you smoke weed? You want to smoke a joint? And I'm like, yes, I do. Mike Tyson. Yes, I do.

[Shannon Sharpe]

He made your offer. You could refuse.

[Brad Williams]

Yes. I'm sitting there like, if that guy bites, he could pac man me. And it's done. So I sat there and I smoked a joint with Mike Tyson. And it was awesome. He's great.

[Shannon Sharpe]

When kids see you, do they actually think you're another kid? They don't realize that you're an adult.

[Brad Williams]

They're just confused. They see it. They're like, I don't know what this is. I haven't been around this. And sometimes they think I'm a kid. A lot of times, it's just. They'll ask their mom, why? Why is that guy so small? And I've got my bit. But see, here. Here's the thing. This is why. So I've noticed that different races, the kids respond differently to me, okay? So white kids, they want to say something, but they can't. And then, like, if they start talking, their mom, like, grabs them and, like. And like, you know, no, Skyler. And then, like. Like, you know, like, walks him away. Black kids are the most honest.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They gonna say, whatever. If it comes up, it's coming out, Brad.

[Brad Williams]

If I. If a black kid sees me, he just will just walk right up. What the hell's wrong with you? What's wrong with y'? All? And I'm just like, okay. And you got. You got. You gotta talk to him, right? But I found out that kids just want an answer, right? All I do is I give them the honest answer. I. I say, yeah, I'm a. I'm an adult, but I'm just smaller, you know? So some people have blond, some people have brown hair. Some people are black, some people are white, some people are really tall, Some people are really small. And I kind of say, like, isn't that cool? And 99% of the time, the kid will be like, yeah, that's really cool. 1% of the time they're like, yeah, but you're still short as fuck. And then I gotta put my foot through the kid. And that's rare, but it happens.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I read that you don't like when grown men take your urinal.

[Brad Williams]

Mm, yes. My urinal. Every men's bathroom, Shannon, You've been in one. They have the one that's down.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I used after what I use. Why? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Brad Williams]

Why do you use that urinal? Your dick needs a shelf. What are you doing?

[Shannon Sharpe]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I do. But I do use that one.

[Brad Williams]

If I.

[Shannon Sharpe]

It is right there on the end.

[Brad Williams]

Shannon, I'm a lifelong Broncos fan. You're one of my heroes. You're on my Mount Rushmore. But if I walk into a bathroom and I see you, Shannon Sharpe, at my urinal, I'm gonna R. Kelly your leg. I'm gonna go full R. Kelly on your leg.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But, Brad, what am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to pass it up and go to the.

[Brad Williams]

Yes, you go to the regular one. Cause that's for you. The other one is for me and a five year old named Zachary. That is it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I could understand if. I'm at the shopping mall. I'm gonna pass the handicap parking and leave that.

[Brad Williams]

Yes.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I'm not walking past that urinal, Brad. I'm sorry.

[Brad Williams]

I'll fight you. I'll lose, but I'll fight you. I'm gonna throw it down for my people.

[Shannon Sharpe]

When did you realize, or did you maybe know early on and your father explained it to you that you were different? That your size, your height was different than the other kids?

[Brad Williams]

This is like starting to go into kindergarten, first grade. But see, here's the wonderful part, Shannon. My dad was a brilliant man. Very smart man, tall guy. My mom is not a dwarf. Dad's not a dwarf. There's no dwarves in my family. But my dad knew that I would be picked on. He knew that. So he was like, all right, I'm going to pick on you first in the house, okay? But he would, like insult me. But then he would say, okay, now hit me back with something because this is going to happen on the playground. Kid's going to come up, he's going to say something. You guys say something back. So my dad and I would write comebacks. We would write comebacks. So it's like, all right, if the kid says this and I say this and then say that. And my dad was a trial attorney, so he. So. So he had the gift of Gabby. And I got sent to the principal's office on the very first day of school because a kid walked up, went like, ha, ha, you're little. And I went, ha ha. Your mom doesn't live with your dad anymore.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Wow, wow, wow.

[Brad Williams]

And I grew up in Orange County, California. So that's. Yeah, about a 92% chance to get that one right. So I did. Kid cried. And I got sent to the principal's office for having the better joke. But so that, so that's what my dad and I would do is we would prepare. So by the time I got to school and kids would make fun of me with like, oh, I've been preparing for this. I'm good. And now by the time I'm a comedian, 22 years in, some people think that, oh, you're going to be in the audience. You're going to yell Oompa Loompa at me and throw me off, bro.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I've heard way worse, bro.

[Brad Williams]

I'm going to make you wish that you left your date at home. Okay? Some shit's going to happen at that show.

[Shannon Sharpe]

What? It occurs 1, say 1 to 15 to 1 to 40,000.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So normally it's. Normally it's average. And average. It's not like, you know, okay, if an average sized woman or man has with the. And the other partner is not average size. So do they know why it happens like that?

[Brad Williams]

Everyone makes the joke that my mom cheated on my dad with a circus performer. But no, we don't know. It's a recessive gene. It's a genetic mutation. So technically I'm an X man. What's up? What's up?

[Shannon Sharpe]

So what's your special power? Can you see the magneto?

[Brad Williams]

Dude? My special power? Special powers that I would. Would buy booze at like age 8. Because no, because no. Everyone's like, he's tiny. I don't know.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right?

[Brad Williams]

Yeah, but I don't know why it happens. Now, my daughter, she is a little person.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Really?

[Brad Williams]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So she. So she's a dwarf like me. Same type of. Same type of dwarfism. Is it condysplasia a con achondroplasia. That's what happened. Well done, sir. Hey.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You like it? I know my homework.

[Brad Williams]

You did your homework? I don't see. But then I, I used to make the joke that, that my type of DW sounds like what a black family would name their daughter. You know, like achondroplasia. Get in here. You know, like, it sounds like that. All right. We just lost a couple viewers. That's okay.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So your dad prepared you? He never treated you differently?

[Brad Williams]

No.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I mean, you have siblings?

[Brad Williams]

Yeah, I got a sister who is average size.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Average size.

[Brad Williams]

And like. Yeah, I grew up. I played sports. I played hockey. That was my main one. And it was. So

[T-Mobile/US Cellular Advertiser]

why do we try and sell hot?

[Brad Williams]

So I can breathe. Why do you need to breathe?

[Shannon Sharpe]

So I can think.

[Brad Williams]

If I can breathe.

[Shannon Sharpe]

If I can breathe, I can think.

[Brad Williams]

If I can think.

[Shannon Sharpe]

If I can think, if I can

[Brad Williams]

think, then I can win.

[Shannon Sharpe]

League the Beast Rated R. In theaters Friday.

[Brad Williams]

We're lost and kickoff's coming up. I don't want to miss the lineup. I'm gonna ask that man for directions. Hi there. We're trying to get to the stadium.

[T-Mobile/US Cellular Advertiser]

Well, you're going to take a left at the old oak tree at this here road.

[Brad Williams]

Nah, I'm just kidding.

[T-Mobile/US Cellular Advertiser]

Let me get my phone out.

[Brad Williams]

How is there signal out here?

[T-Mobile/US Cellular Advertiser]

T Mobile and US Cellular are coming together. So the network out here is huge. We get the same great signal as the city, saving a boatload with benefits. And there's a five year price guarantee too. Okay, here's the turn.

[Brad Williams]

Actually, can you pull up the way to a T Mobile store?

[T-Mobile/US Cellular Advertiser]

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[Brad Williams]

Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. I'm John Green. You may know me as the author

[Shannon Sharpe]

of the Fault in our Stars.

[Brad Williams]

And now I guess also as the

[Shannon Sharpe]

co host of the Away End, a

[Brad Williams]

brand new world soccer podcast.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I'm Daniel Alarcon. A writer and journalist. And John and I have known each other since we were kids. My first World cup was Mexico 86. I was nine years old. I watched every game and I fell in love. On our new podcast, the Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World cup for us.

[Brad Williams]

Soccer. Football is a story we've shared for

[Shannon Sharpe]

over 30 years, since Daniel was the

[Brad Williams]

star player on our high school soccer team.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Very debatable.

[Brad Williams]

And I was their most loyal and sometimes only fan. I love this game. I love its history, its hope, its heartbreak, and above all, its beauty.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Together, we'll find out why. Of all the unimportant things football, soccer is the most important. Listen to the Away End with Daniel Alarcon and John green on the iHeartRadio

[Brad Williams]

app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I'm Greg Rosenthal. And this is 40s and free agents. The games may be over, but the NFL never stops. This is my favorite part of the calendar. Yeah, mine too, Greg. Free agency, the combine, the NFL draft, pro days, trades. This is where teams reshape their future. This is where Daniel Jeremiah makes his money.

[Shannon Sharpe]

On 40s and free agents.

[Brad Williams]

We break down every move that actually matters, from my draft evaluations, mock drafts and team fits to my top 101 free agents and how real rosters are built, cap space, contracts, and all the tough decisions included. You got quarterbacks on the move. We got teams rebuilding.

[Shannon Sharpe]

It's hope season. Yeah, absolutely, it's hope season.

[Brad Williams]

We'll tell you what's real, what's noise, and what it means for your favorite team. Smart analysis, real conversations every week. I don't know about the smart, but definitely analysis. Listen to 40s and free agents on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Shannon Sharpe]

The Mighty Ducks, man.

[Brad Williams]

Damn right, I'm still a Duck fan. Let's go. I'm wearing, I'm wearing the orange because I'm a Bronco fan and a Duck fan. But yeah, it was always interesting being in sports because, like, I would play baseball, soccer, basketball, hockey, and then in high school I wrestled and there is nothing. Yeah, Shannon, There is nothing like wrestling an average sized kid whose father is watching him and I pin him.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You pinned him.

[Brad Williams]

Oh, yeah, dude. And that dad would be like, I can't.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, I can't go home, get your story.

[Brad Williams]

Like, I can't. This is my wife's kid. This is not mine. Like, there were Times when I would do it and it was so great. Cause low center of gravity and I was wrestling in a weight division of 103s. So if there was another kid wrestling me, I was, I'm tall and compact and muscle. He's a stream. Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

For a high school kid to be 103 pounds.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah. So I'm, so I'm shooting half nelson's, I'm. I'm flipping dudes over. I'm laying on their shoulders. Oh, it was awesome. It was a good time.

[Shannon Sharpe]

After watching a close friend grow through a loss a few years back, I saw how quickly grief can turn to financial stress. No one deserves that feeling I saw him feel. And I mean no one. No matter what, I offered to help. It wasn't enough. I promised my family I would never make them feel the same way my buddy felt. Trust me, that experience of watching a close friend grow through financial stress while grieving changed how I think about protecting my family. Life insurance isn't about expecting the worst, but it's about making sure the people that you love are supported no matter what. That's why we at Club Shay Shay recommend life insurance through Ethos. Ethos makes life insurance fast and easy, 100% online. You can get a quote in seconds, apply in minutes and the same day coverage. How much easier can protecting your loved ones get? There's no medical exam. You just answer a few simple health questions. Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Now by going to ethos.com Shay Shay In a little as 10 minutes, you can get a free quote and up to $3 million in [e-mail] Shay Shay that's E T H O S.com Shayshay again, that's ethos.com Shay Shay application times and rates may vary. Did you play football?

[Brad Williams]

No. I wanted to, but my dad wouldn't let you. Yeah, my dad's like, you're gonna get killed, dude. But I don't know if you know this. The. The famous college football coach Mike Leach, he once. This is real. He once suggested that his team have a little person on the team. Yes. For short yardage situations.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They go throw them over there.

[Brad Williams]

Just chuck it, bro. 1 so the last year I got to go to the NFL draft, the Broncos sent me out and they had a session with Roger Goodell with some of the fans from all the different teams. I got to ask that question to Roger Goodell. I said, would you allow a team to hire a dwarf to be thrown over the line? Like, because they're Going to ban the tush push. So now let's have a dwarf thrown over the line. And Roger is stone cold in every situation. I left him speechless. He's like, I have no idea what to say. He goes, you're hired.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But they didn't. They used to have, like, a little person toss.

[Brad Williams]

I mean, in Florida, they still do. Florida, they do a lot. That's the thing. I was. Yeah, some people. That's a thing. I don't want to do it. I don't ever want to do it. But I also. And so I have two opening acts that are black, and we talk all the time about stuff where we go. We don't want to deny anyone their money.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Brad Williams]

But there's some stuff people do where we're like, mother. That kind of hurts.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Brad Williams]

And they talk to me about stuff that happens in the community and that. They're like, yeah, make your money. But it's not exactly making us proud.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right, Right.

[Brad Williams]

That's. There's stuff. Dwarf tossings like that for me, where it's like, make your money. That's fine. But as long as no one sees me out and about and just goes, all right, it's time to compete, like, I'm okay. But I'm not a huge fan of that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You mentioned how your dad would prepare you.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah, man.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Your dad never treated you differently than your siblings, did he? Nope.

[Brad Williams]

Never. Never. It was never like that. It was always. It was always equal. Equal punishments.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You got in trouble. What. What would you. What would you do to get in trouble?

[Brad Williams]

My mouth. The same reason you got in trouble, Shannon. Yeah, the mouth. I. I'd pop off because I always thought no one wants to actually hit me.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Brad Williams]

So. Because you don't want to, you know, you don't want to hit a dwarf. We don't explode into candy. So, like, I. I would always pop off and get. And teachers would be like, can you get him to shut up for just a little bit? And. But then I started doing, like, high school theater and stuff, and that's where I. And that's where I got it out. And then. And then once I discovered stand up. Oh, it was over.

[Shannon Sharpe]

It was when you got in trouble, the teachers would call your dad, and you, like, you know, you were in trouble then.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah. But then my dad would always say, this is. This would be my dad. Every time they called him, he would say, did he start it or did he finish it?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Wow.

[Brad Williams]

And if I started it, I was in trouble.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Brad Williams]

If I finished it, good job. We're going out to Sizzler that night. It's gonna be great.

[Shannon Sharpe]

He taught golf?

[Brad Williams]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Was your thing.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah. I love playing golf. Love playing golf. And my dad taught me two jokes that I still use to this day every time I play golf. Because when I go to the course or if I'm talking golf with someone, everyone's always like, so you play golf

[Shannon Sharpe]

from the tips they ask you for?

[Brad Williams]

Yeah. They're like, are you going for the tips? Are you going. And I'm. Dude. I'm like, dude, I'll. I'll teed up from the whites. It's all. It's. It's okay. And then if someone ever says, oh, you golf.

[Shannon Sharpe]

What.

[Brad Williams]

What's your handicap? I'm like, dwarfism. You son of a.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You looking at it?

[Brad Williams]

Yeah. And then the other joke is, I don't drive very far, but hell of a short game. So. Yeah. Every time. Every time we need to open one of these, because that's.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Do you. Do you really play from the tips, though?

[Brad Williams]

Damn right.

[Shannon Sharpe]

No. No way, Brad.

[Brad Williams]

Dude, not. Not the pro. Not.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, I'm saying.

[Brad Williams]

Not the tips. Okay? No, no, no. I'm not going out to Cherry Hills with you and John. I'm not playing from the tips. You guys do your thing. Do you golf with Rod?

[Shannon Sharpe]

I don't. Rod golf. My brother's a golfer.

[Brad Williams]

Okay. Sterling golf?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah. Yeah. He golf. I don't. I just really never got into it.

[Brad Williams]

Okay. Cause you're asking me questions, but I'm holding back all my questions for you.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Brad Williams]

I questions for you.

[Shannon Sharpe]

We'll get to them.

[Brad Williams]

I still remember when you gave away the party location on SportsCenter Live after the first super bowl win. You were talking to your brother, and you. And he said, where's the party at? And you gave away the actual location.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I gave away the location of the party after we won the championship game, too. Probably shouldn't have done that.

[Brad Williams]

Did people show up?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Of course they did. Of course they did. I don't know if they got in, but they did show up. What type of discipline? When you got in trouble, what would your dad do? I don't think he did corporal punishment on you.

[Brad Williams]

He didn't hit me. No. My dad was all. My. My mom and dad were all psychological. It was. It was psychological warfare with me. You know, they would. There was another little person that lived near us and about the same age as me and James, and they would talk about him like, well, he's doing well. Like, he. Like, he's doing okay. Why couldn't you Be like. And I'm like, so. Like, that. That would get me.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Did you go downstairs, look at Mo fo. I need you to cut. Because I'm tired of my parents talking about how well behaved you are and how well you're doing. Act up. Do something.

[Brad Williams]

But the thing is, is my dad would tell me, very, very smart man, he says, just remember this, son. He goes, remember? Everyone's gonna always remember you. So some kid could up and that, and then kind of fade away. And then people forget. If you. You up, everyone's gonna know that about you for a while. That's gonna be what people know about you. So do not up. And that really resonated with me where I was like, oh, okay. Someone's gonna remember me.

[Shannon Sharpe]

When you were 16, your dad got you a car. Were you the first? So you had a Tesla way before electric cars were even. You had electric car way before it was fashioned.

[Brad Williams]

Yes. Cause when I was 16, this is a true story. My dad woke me up, my 16th birthday and said, I got you a car. And I was so happy. And I ran downstairs, and there was a Power wheels.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You thought he was a real car? Yeah.

[Brad Williams]

And. But you know what? Hey, that was a golf cart for me. I drove that shit. It was fine. I sang the Thing song and everything. But, yeah, no. But then he got me a car later. I drove a truck. That was my first car. I loved it. I love doing things that people don't expect me to do.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Correct.

[Brad Williams]

I jump out of a truck. People see a truck roll up, they're like. Like, who's getting out of that, right? I swing off the damn steering wheel.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I know you didn't got no Dually. You ain't got no Dually. No King Cab or nothing like that.

[Brad Williams]

I didn't get a Dually, but, man, I. I had a nice truck. It was good.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Your father taught you how to drive, or you. You just observe because obviously you're gonna have to have a special mechanism to be able to drive.

[Brad Williams]

So I just kind of observed. But here's one thing. I've gotten to a car accident before because my. Because my brake fell off. I have pedal extenders.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Brad Williams]

They're little pedals that attach to the pedal. So I'm driving. I'm. I got slam on the brake. The brake thunk. It clunks. I'm like, ah. So I grab the wheel, fling myself down, slam on the brake. But it's too late. Boom. Rear end. The guy, he gets out, and I get out, and he looks at me, he's like, was that. Was that before he thought he accordioned me, he thought I hit him and just like, I was gonna go out like. Like Elmer Foiler. Like, that's what he thought happened.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Cause I was wondering. I was wondering what his. What the expression on his face was when he actually saw you hop out of the car. Yeah.

[Brad Williams]

You. You get in a car accident with a dwarf, you're like, ah, I'm not getting into heaven.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You ever got a speeding ticket?

[Brad Williams]

Yes.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So would the police? Do they ask you to get out the car?

[Brad Williams]

Yes. So here's what I did, Shannon. I grew up in Los Angeles near. One time I was at Universal Studios. And if you go to Universal Studios la, you go to the gift shop, they have all these fake Academy Awards. They say, like, you know, best mom, best dad, best teacher you're supposed to get it from. I found one, Shannon, that said best police officer. And I was like, yes. So I got it, put it in my glove box. And every time I got pulled over for speeding, I got that trophy out and I held it, and the guy walked up, I was like, congratulations, you won. Never got a ticket. Wow. Never got a ticket. Cause the cop would laugh so hard. If you can make a cop laugh. Now, I will be sensitive to my friends in the black community. That's a different. It's different for me.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Brad Williams]

It's different for me, and I'm fully aware of that. But for me, whenever I would make someone laugh, that was it. I would always get out of a ticket.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Do you think your parents. It seems to me that you believe your parents did a great job because they understood the world was gonna be cruel. The world is not gonna be as forgiving and as kind to you as we are because we're your parents.

[Brad Williams]

Exactly.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So I'm gonna prepare you for what you're gonna actually face in the real world. Cause guess what? You're not gonna be with mom and dad always. So we're not gonna be able to protect you. You're gonna have to be able to protect yourself.

[Brad Williams]

Thousand percent, man. And that I will always. We're always in debt to our parents. I will. I will look at my parents and be like, if you could go back and say, hey, you get to roll the dice again, have maybe some different parents, I would say, nah, stay like, I'm not going. Because I've seen other parents that have dwarf children. Because they write me. A lot of parents will write me. If they're average size, they have a dwarf child, they write me and they say, what should I. But. And I see a lot of them want to hide them away.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Brad Williams]

And, like, be, like, protect and be like, no, no, no. But it's like, like you said at one. At one point, they're going to be gone. Kids got to survive the real world. My. My dad would always tell me, there's the world that is and the world that should be. I will prepare you for the world that is.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Brad Williams]

Because the world that should be is everyone gets along, everyone's happy there. There's no racism, there's no sexism, there's no disability. That's the world that should be. The world it is is. All those things exist. So let me prepare you for that. And I'm really excited to raise my daughter in a similar way. Thankfully, I had great models, so I will just do what they did.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Have we become too politically correct that we're so sensitive that it's hard? I mean. Cause if you think about. And you grew up, like, you love comedians and you knew how the comedians in the 70s and 80s were early 90s, and you kind of see a shift now, it's kind of going back. It's going back, it's going back. But for a long time, there are certain things you couldn't say. There were certain jokes you couldn't tell.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah. I always say this because people talk about cancel culture with comedians.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Brad Williams]

And I say, well, let me give you some comedians that have been canceled. Dave Chappelle, Joe Rogan, Shane Gillis, Louis ck Yeah, I'll go on. They're selling out arenas. If that's the case, please cancel me. I would love to get those paychecks. I've seen those paychecks. They're nice. So. So what you have right now is it used to be you told a joke, and if people didn't like it, the people in the room said, I didn't like that joke. They didn't laugh at it. Now because of social media, they not only not laugh at that joke, they tell their friends, this is the offensive thing the guy said.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Or they're uploaded.

[Brad Williams]

They're uploaded.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Do you allow cameras? Do you allow phones?

[Brad Williams]

And so I'm not gonna do the yonder bags where Dave does that. And that's great. He can afford it. I can't. I can't afford that. So what? One, one thing that I always say about comedians, when it comes to material, I will always defend with insane veracity, I will defend the attempt. I will always defend the attempt at a joke. If you are trying to make a Joke. Okay, you can. You. You can up. But a lot. A lot of people who aren't in comedy, they assume that when a joke comes out, when they hear a joke, it's perfect. It's already been. No, we need to work this out. We need to give it out to the audience. Because, trust me, I've told jokes, many jokes that have bombed in front of an audience. And I go, okay, time to retool. Time to adjust. I've told jokes that went too far, where the audience let me know, hey, cross the line. And I went, okay. And then I pulled it back a little bit. But then, because my goal is to make sure the audience has a good time.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Brad Williams]

And to make sure they laugh. So I will always defend the attempt. My dad, like I said, defense attorney, he always tell me, freedom of speech does not exist for the speech you agree with. First Amendment is there for the speech you disagree with.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Brad Williams]

That's the speech you gotta. You gotta really defend. So sometimes a comedian will say something and everyone will flip out. Can you believe this comedian said this thing that did this thing? And I'm just like, yeah, he was trying. He was trying to make a joke. Y' all booed, and that's fine. And hopefully they go back and fix it, right? Because the market will fix the jokes. I. I don't want to go on stage and eat it for an hour. I want to be good. I will change it. And that has happened in my career. So I will always defend the attempt.

[Shannon Sharpe]

How long does it take you to perfect a joke? Because you remember when you first started, you could tell a joke over and over and over and over again. But if you tell a joke in Jacksonville, you probably not gonna be able. You might. You might can get away with it in Tampa, but if you try to take it to Miami, try to take it Atlanta, somebody. They already done uploaded.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah, I don't like that because I want people to be a surprise. Thankfully, they're good. And a lot of people don't record my stuff and put it on. Like, I remember, like, when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Brad Williams]

The next week he was doing shows and he had, like, people were bringing in phones and he had those yonder bags, and people still got jokes. Pete, People still got phones in. Cause everyone wanted to know what he was gonna say.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Brad Williams]

I'm at a perfect level of fame right now, Shannon, where that's not really happening for me.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Brad Williams]

And I'm totally fine with it. But, yeah, don't. Don't ruin it. Don't like Like, I. I do a free meet and greet after my show.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Free?

[Brad Williams]

Free.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I do not know they'll pay for that.

[Brad Williams]

I know, but there's 1200 people there that are paying my mortgage. Okay, So I will go out to the lobby, right? I'll do a free meet and greet. We'll take the photo then.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right?

[Brad Williams]

Get the photo, then leave the material for the stage. Live in the moment.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Wow. You said people with disabilities have the best sense of humor.

[Brad Williams]

Damn right. Yeah. Well, it's because very similarly to why the Jewish community is very good at telling jokes, the black community has some great comedians. Really good jokes come from struggle, and really good sense of humor come from struggle. If you're disabled, you're not offended if someone says something about what, you know, what life is, you know, how serious life could be. People that have actually gone through shit, they typically are not as offended as people who have had wonderful, pristine lives. Like, whenever someone gets mad at me for a joke about a disability, it's never the person that has the disability. It's the person who's like, my sister is a. Okay, well, when your sister gets mad. Mad at me, then I'll tell her,

[Shannon Sharpe]

come, take it up with me. Not you.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah. Because. And don't get me wrong, I am not the comedian that says you are not allowed to be offended at a joke. Yes, being offended is an involuntary response. If I tell a joke and you feel a certain way. Okay. And if I get something wrong, by all means, tell me. I do not want to be a bully comedian. So if I say something about your community and I'm way off, please let me know so I can correct this.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That.

[Brad Williams]

But on average, if I hear something just like, I didn't like that joke, I was just like, all right, well, the audience.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Do you ever ask why?

[Brad Williams]

Yeah. And if the. And if the response is, well, because my sister is a blankety blank, I'm like, all right, then, no, I don't care. It's very strange that you have to pick and choose, Right? But I really do, because I'm not trying to be a bully. I don't. I don't want to be. I don't want to be a comedian where people come and then leave angry. My job is entertain you. You paid for tickets, parking, babysitters. I want to make sure you have a good time. But there will be a segment of the population that will not like a certain joke. And that's just what you have to deal with as a comedian. You're not gonna be for everybody.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Brad when did we. It almost seems now that people go to things to be offended.

[Brad Williams]

Yes.

[Shannon Sharpe]

When did we become such an easily offended culture?

[Brad Williams]

I think, and I don't know the answer, but I think it's when. With social media.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Brad Williams]

Being offended became a. Look at me now I'm going to the show. Now I'm posting on social media. I was offended.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Brad Williams]

Now look at me. Look at me being offended. Look at me. And I'm just like, listen. If I always laugh when someone reposts offensive joke and says, this was not funny, but in the clip, you hear a theater full of people laughing, I'm like, nope, that's funny. Now, if the room full of people boo or get mad, you have an argument. But if you're posting a clip of this comedian saying this outrageous thing and then a room full of people is laughing, that's the proof right there. You can't make that argument. Like, people will say something. And this man is a friend of mine, so I'm not throwing him out. People say, like, Larry the Cable Guy's not funny. And it's like he sold out a football stadium and made them laugh.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Brad Williams]

He's funny.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Brad Williams]

To some people, you can say that. You don't find him funny.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Correct.

[Brad Williams]

Totally fine.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I mean, some people might not like Chappelle. Some people might not like Shane Gillis. Some people not like. It's okay.

[Brad Williams]

It's okay.

[Shannon Sharpe]

There's no such thing as somebody liking everything. It's kind of like Brad, you know what, man? You know what, Shannon? I really like apple. Brad Williams hate oranges and bananas.

[Brad Williams]

I know.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Just because I feel just like that.

[Brad Williams]

Yes, exactly. And with, like, I think about this with comedians, movies, music. Listen, man. My daughter is six. She is obsessed with K Pop Demon Hunters. Loves this thing, sings all the songs, sings golden all day. And I'm, and I'm sitting there going, I don't like K Pop Demon Hunters. But that doesn't mean it shouldn't exist.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Correct.

[Brad Williams]

It should exist for the people that like it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Brad Williams]

I, you know, you, you people hate. On whatever artist, whatever. They should exist for the people that love them. It's okay. And if, if, if they come out with a K Pop Demon Hunters sequel, it's all right. Everyone got a paycheck and a bunch of people are gonna like it. Something shouldn't exist just because I don't like it. Like, should Taylor Swift stop making music? Cause Brad Williams doesn't like a couple of songs. Nah, make your music. You make people really happy.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right. You mentioned you Speak so highly of your dad. And I don't know if you're the man that you become if you don't have this father in your life, but he ended up getting cancer.

[Brad Williams]

Yep. Skin cancer.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Beating.

[Brad Williams]

Yep.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And so when he got. You found out your dad had cancer, did he tell you? Your mom tell you? Because they probably tried to keep it away from you.

[Brad Williams]

They did. Cause I was touring, and they knew I was doing good stuff, and I was on the. And I was on the way up, so they tried to downplay it. But, like, every now and then I come home, my dad had these huge bandages on his arm and be like, what's up? He goes, ah, he's got a little cancer burned off. And I'm like, what are you doing? Just got a little cancer burned off. But I'll tell you this story. And I was at. I was in Denver. I was at the Comedy Works South Club, and that's at the Tech Center. And I was backstage. And I knew all that day, I knew my dad was going in to get results. I knew that. So all that day, I'm just like, all right, all right, okay, okay, okay. And then, literally, I'm five minutes from going on, my phone rings. It's my mom. I know

[Shannon Sharpe]

you got that eerie feeling.

[Brad Williams]

I know what this call is. I pick up the phone and I say, hello. And the first thing she says is, he's in remission. And I collapse on the green room floor at the Comedy Works South Club. Just tears, just stupid wailing, crying. And then I hear, please welcome the stage Brad Williams. I'm like, okay, go out. And I couldn't help it. That night, I told the Tech Center, I told Commie Works what happened that night. And it was one of the more magical shows. I will always remember that show. But, yeah, it was a great moment. Moment. And I was inspired by how my dad fought it. And my dad passed away three years ago of als. So he had cancer. He had a fake hip, he had a fake knee. He had als. This.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Wow. So he beat cancer only to contract als.

[Brad Williams]

Jeez. But I think about this all the time. And there was. I don't know if you ever watched Inside the Actors Studio, but there's a question that the host would always ask every person, and that is, if heaven exists, what do you want God to say when you get there? And Mike Myers was on that show, and he said, I want God to say he saw it. Because Mike Myers dad passed away very young and did not see all the Saturday Night Live.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Brad Williams]

And Power Yeah, all that. So my dad got to see. Before he passed away, he got to see me film specials. He got to see me get married, have a kid. My wife or my sister got married, have a kid. Like, he got to see his children succeed. So he saw it. He had, like, death is horrible. Here's how awful death is. My dad had the greatest death ever. He was. He's on his bed in his home. He's surrounded by his family. The last words he says are to my daughter and says, I love her.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Wow.

[Brad Williams]

That's the last words he said that. That is a dream death, if you could pencil it in.

[Shannon Sharpe]

He started crying.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah. And then, you know, he goes. And that's how much death sucks. But one thing I realize is that we are lucky if we get to experience pain and grief from someone passing away. Because my father passed away, I was wrecked, but I'm lucky because I had a dad that caused that kind of grief. Like, if my dad passed away and I feel nothing.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Brad Williams]

Proof. Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I'm never gonna see this man again. I'm never gonna speak to this man again. Yet I feel nothing.

[Brad Williams]

Yes. Then that means you didn't have a great dad.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Brad Williams]

I was lucky enough to have a fantastic father where when that day happened, I was wrecked, and I feel lucky to have experienced that pain.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Did he ever. When you found out your dad had ALS after beating cancer, did he like, like, damn, son, I'm having a rough go with this. Did. Did he ever, like, question or. He just like, hey, it's part of life.

[Brad Williams]

We would all. We would find ways to laugh. We would all get together, we'd find ways to laugh. He'd still. He'd still find. You know, he'd still be tuned in. He'd still want to know what's going on. He'd still be interested in my life, my daughter's life, my sister's life, her kids. Like, he was still in it. But. But laughter was very key. And I would always come back and I would tell him all the new jokes that I would write, and then he would laugh. And it was truly something to where I know that when I make an audience laugh, that is them experiencing a wonderful release, and we all need it. Especially now when you pick up that phone and you doom scroll and you look and things just piss you off. Piss you off. Piss you off. I am happy to be someone to where when you come to see me perform, you are happy. Like, I love the Denver Broncos. I love the Denver Broncos. I've been to games where they Lost. That sucks.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Brad Williams]

I was at the super bowl where the snap went over Peyton Manning's head.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Oh, yeah. I was there, too.

[Brad Williams]

I was at that game.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And I'm like eight against the Seahawks.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah. And I'm just like, ha. I just spent thousands of dollars to see something I love get tortured.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes. And from that. From that. The first. And I knew. I said, you know what? This is not going to end well.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You know, it's not going to end well.

[Brad Williams]

So I love the fact that people, no matter what you're going through, you. You come to my show, laugh, have a good time, feel good afterward. Because it seems like everything nowadays is designed to piss you off, and my comedy is not designed to do that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Your mom's from Savannah, Georgia.

[Brad Williams]

Savannah, Georgia. Oh, yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I grew up near Savannah, went to school in Savannah.

[Brad Williams]

Love it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Did you guys go back there when you were a kid?

[Brad Williams]

Did you go back? We've been there. We've seen the moss. I love.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You like the Spanish moss, huh?

[Brad Williams]

I love me some foresight.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Downtown, River Street.

[Brad Williams]

Love me some Johnny Harris barbecue sauce.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Brad Williams]

Okay. I still get Johnny Harris barbecue sauce delivered to my house.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Really?

[Brad Williams]

From Savannah. It's my favorite barbecue sauce. It's amazing. Shout out to all the people. Go get yourself some Johnny Harris, Barbara.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Johnny Harris. Do it by Kerry Hilliards.

[Brad Williams]

It's fantastic, man. Dude. But so my mom would tell me stories, though, because she grew up in Savannah and then she moved out to Los Angeles and her first day of school. I'll never forget this. Never forget this. She told me this story. First day of school. She gets to school. I think it's like fourth grade, and they're studying the Civil War. And she's the new kid in class, and they go, susan, you're new. Who won the Civil War? And she stands up, stands up. In the classroom goes the south. And I was like, I was gonna say that. Cause it was taught differently, the War of Northern Aggression. So, yeah, it was taught differently, but I love my mom, and she does not believe that anymore. Let's just say that. Which is good.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I want to know this. Before you became a comic, what were some of the jobs that you have? Because that is a job that you have. And I'm like, how?

[Brad Williams]

How? I've only had three jobs in my life, Shannon. Okay, this is great. One comedian.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Brad Williams]

Been it 22 years. That's the last job I'm going to have. The very first job I had. You ever been to a mall, Shannon, and seen a store called Hot Topic?

[Shannon Sharpe]

I Haven't.

[Brad Williams]

Okay, Hot Topic, someone laughed over there. You know it. That's like the alternative store for the goth kids.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay, okay.

[Brad Williams]

And you go there. I was a cashier at Hot Topic, which all the cashiers had, you know, gauges, tattoos, piercings, black fingernail.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, yeah, yes, yes.

[Brad Williams]

And I came in and I interviewed for the job. I dress pretty much how I dress now. And they're like, ah, dwarf. That's weird enough. Okay, yeah, yeah, you can work here. So I worked at Hot Topic and then the other job I got. And I grew up in Orange County, California.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Brad Williams]

I did what a lot of teenagers do when they grew up in Orange County, California. You work at Disneyland. You work at Disneyland. I work for the mouse. And then as your viewers are thinking this joke, you. I'm not one of the seven, okay? My actual job, it's called a character host. It's basically a bodyguard for the characters. You walk around with the characters. You see any character at Disney, there's always someone right next to him. And, you know, you set up lines, you take photos, and every then a five year old steps out of line. You gotta throw a forearm shiver. And that's what I did.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So you are a bodyguard for the character.

[Brad Williams]

Yep. Yeah. The only time I really had to do something was I was with. With Pinocchio, which is just a great sentence to say. I was with Pinocchio. And Pinocchio is oftentimes played by a woman. And I knew the woman who was playing Pinocchio, and a guy got a little handsy with Pinocchio, which is what weird fetish do you have? Yeah, what up thing? Do you wood? Well, that might be the thing. He's like, ooh, T. Tell a lie, Pinocchio, make it grow. But he did. And I was very aggressive. But the craziest thing I ever saw at Disneyland, I was with Mickey Mouse one day.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And you know how real. How I was with Mickey?

[Brad Williams]

That was real. I'm with the boss and, you know, Mickey's out there for a while. And then at the end of about a half hour, Mickey's gonna go in because they gotta switch to Mickey's. You know, it's hot outside and me, I'm not allowed to say that. I have to say, hey, Mickey's gonna go get a glass of lemonade and then he's gonna be right back. And I start to take Mickey away and this one mom comes up and goes, no, no, no, just one photo. Just one photo. And I'm like, hey, I'm just gonna Take Mickey away, but he's gonna be right back, and you're gonna be fine. She goes, just one photo. And I kind of look at her and I go, hurry up. Wait here 15 seconds. Mickey's gonna be right back, right? And then I start taking Mickey away. She yells out, mickey. Mickey turns. This woman is holding a baby. Shannon. She throws her baby. Mickey does that, catches the baby. She takes the photo, grabs the. Grabs the baby and goes, thank you. And then just walks away and muttering like, you just threw a baby. You just softball pitched a baby to someone who can't see. We got to the back. Mickey throws off the head. It's once again played by a woman. She's crying. She's like, well, what if I drop the baby? What if I drop the baby? I'm like, but, but you didn't drop the baby. You're a hero. You're fine. But that. That sometimes people are in an amusement park and they just have this false sense of security. And that was the craziest thing I ever saw at that park.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Did you ever get fired by the giants as a DJ?

[Brad Williams]

So about 10 years ago, I was burnt out from standup, and I did. I took a gig as a morning radio show host in San Francisco, California. And. And it was on a show called Kevin Klein live on live 105. And while I was there, the Giants won the World Series. I'm from Los Angeles. While I am a Broncos fan, I'm a lifelong die hard Dodger fan. Things are good right now.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Very good.

[Brad Williams]

Very good. Back in the day, not so good. Giants won the World Series, and they wanted me on air to be like, all right, hype up the Giants winning the World Series. I'm like, like, no. And they said, what are you talking about? I'm a Dodger fan. I'm not going to be really excited. That's inauthentic. They're like, no, no, no. You have to be excited. You have to say, you have to be really happy that the Giants won the World Series. I'm like, I'm a dwarf. I'm not going to say I'm really happy that Giants won the World Series. I don't like the San Francisco Giants. I don't like the New York Giants anything. Giant. I'm not a fan of. I'm not a friend of. I'm not supporting. So not too long after that, they let me go.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Is it true that Carlos Mencia brought you on stage after he was making. He was making dwarf jokes?

[Brad Williams]

Yep.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So. Cause I don't want people like, you keep saying the word. Is it. Dwarf is fine. Dwarf is fine. Little person or dwarf. It's the M word. That's.

[Brad Williams]

To be fair, I don't like it when black people say the M word because I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. That's too close to your word. Which is not even. We're not in the same category. We're not. People say, oh, calling a. Calling a dwarf. The. Yeah. Calling a dwarf midget is the exact same as calling a black person the N word. And I'm like, midget, please. No, no, not the same.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Brad Williams]

They were never. The dwarves were never slaves because we would have been the worst slaves on the planet. Yeah, fetch me that jar. Second shelf, boss. Like, it's not happening. So I'm not. I'm never going to compare the word midget to the N word. But, yeah, midget's the bad one that you're not supposed to say dwarf, little person. That's it. But, yeah, I was in the audience. I was 19 years old. I was there at the Bray Improv with my dad. Mincia's on stage. He starts making jokes. The audience way over there is laughing. The audience by me is like, Evan Caes. What is one of them here? And I'm like, yeah. Yep. And he called me up on stage and he started asking me questions, and my answers got laughs. I wasn't trying to be funny.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Brad Williams]

He had asked me what I did for a living. And I said, at the time, I worked at Disneyland. Audience starts laughing. I'm like, shut up. I'm not one of the seven. And then they all laugh again. And then after that, I was like, wow, that felt really good. That felt really good.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So that's when you knew. That's when you knew. Say, okay, that's what I wanna do. I wanna be up there and I wanna make the people out there, I wanna make them laugh. Prior to that, did you have any aspirations of being a comedian?

[Brad Williams]

I want. Not comedian. Comedian's a job. Like, to me, at the time, comedian was a job. Like being an Avenger. It's like, yeah, it's a cool job, but I don't know how the hell you do it. I don't know how you get there. And when I started doing stand up, I was actually going. I was going to college. I was going to usc. I was getting a communications degree because I wanted to be. I wanted to be Vin Scully. I wanted to be Chick Hearn. I wanted to be Dave Logan.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay. Yes.

[Brad Williams]

I wanted to Be a broadcast journalist. I want to be a sports announcer.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Brad Williams]

And my dad said you'd be a great sports announcer because you interviewing athletes would be funny as hell. Because me just stand there with a microphone.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, just. Hey, you might have to have the extended. Extended.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah, exactly. There you go. But that. That's. That's what I was going to go do. But then once I started doing stand up, I told my parents. I was like, yeah, I found what I'm going to do, and I dropped out of college with a year to go.

[Shannon Sharpe]

What? Yeah, you might as well go on back. You might as well go on back. You so close.

[Brad Williams]

I was a communications major. Usc give me an honorary degree. All right. I communicate to people every night, right. You know, thousands of people every night, and that's what I tell people. I dropped out of college, but I was a communications major. We didn't lose a cancer cure. We're not sitting here like, oh, man, AIDS is still going because Brad decided to get something.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You got rid of somebody that was going to talk on television or radio.

[Brad Williams]

Exactly, Exactly. Totally fine. Someone has a sports announcing job because I decided to do this, and I'm happy with that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Was that the getting those laughs? Was that the addiction? Because, you know, it's an addiction. I mean, to hear some. To make somebody laugh or, you know, you play a sport and you make somebody. You score a touchdown or score a basket, hit a home run, and that crowd goes crazy, man. When that crowd erupted, where you telling I'm not a seven?

[Brad Williams]

Oh.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Oh.

[Brad Williams]

That's the best feeling ever. That's the feeling that you're chasing every time. And I still get it every time. Every time I write a new joke and it gets it. Like, I don't know how the athletes adjust. I don't know how you guys adjust to running on a field on Sunday or whatever, whether you're a baseball player, basketball player, whatever, here in that crowd, draining a shot, making a touchdown, and the place just goes ape shit. What compares?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Nothing.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's why it's so hard to leave.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah. That's why I'll never tell a guy to retire.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Brad Williams]

Ever.

[Shannon Sharpe]

It's hard to leave because when you go to another, I promise you, when you go to another job, a 9 to 5, ain't nobody standing up applauding your ass when you come to work.

[Brad Williams]

They laugh every time. They laugh every now and then. But there's not, you know, not 70,000 people going crazy.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's why. That's why it's so hard. Because where Do I get the connection? You're in the locker room, you on the bus, you at practice. Where do I get that? Where do I get that applause? Because at some point, think about it, you've had this applause from high school, college. Now you play 5, 10, 15, 20 years.

[Brad Williams]

That's what your life has been.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes. So for the better part of your entire life, all you've heard was applause.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And now all of a sudden, it stops.

[Brad Williams]

Crickets. It just stops.

[Shannon Sharpe]

It's hard.

[Brad Williams]

And you're doing well. Like, you could go out on a stage and people will clap, cheer, enjoy. So, like, when they do one of those reunions where they bring the teams back and you get to run out that tunnel again.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I walk very briskly. I don't run anymore. Two repaired hips and a bad deal. I'm walking briskly.

[Brad Williams]

Do you have two fake hips?

[Shannon Sharpe]

I do.

[Brad Williams]

Wow.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Bilateral. Yes.

[Brad Williams]

How are they? Because I probably got to get a left one soon.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Man. It was the best.

[Brad Williams]

Really.

[Shannon Sharpe]

It is the best. I mean, the quality of life that you will enjoy is nothing like it, Brad. The only thing, the only pain. You'll have pain for, say, a week or so with the incision, where they go in at.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But other than that, the arthritic.

[Brad Williams]

All right, it's gone.

[Shannon Sharpe]

All right, it's gone.

[Brad Williams]

Sign me up. Take this lefty. Give me a new one. Give me robohead.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Have you ever been. You mentioned that you've been booed. What's that? So how do you, like.

[Brad Williams]

Dang.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Damn. How can I make this joke? Or do you just, like, scrap the joke? Or do you, like. How could I. This is a really good joke. I just need to make it funny. It just needs some. Some fine tuning.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah. And so when I started comedy and people wouldn't laugh or they would boo or whatever, it. I took it very personal. Now I've gotten to a point in my career. Thankfully, I'm very comfortable. I know that I'm funny. I know I'm pretty good at this. So if I hear a joke bomb, it's more like, all right, I gotta go tinker in the lab. I gotta figure out why this joke didn't work. Had this recently, and a joke didn't work. And I, I. I heard the joke, and I was like, all right, why didn't this work? And I just found out the setup was way too long. There's a great Mark Twain quote I think about all the time where he said, if I had more time, I would have written you a shorter book. I Think about that with jokes like, get too it and. And then sometimes I get a laugh where. So on my last special, starfish, over 8 million views on YouTube.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Thank you. Right.

[Brad Williams]

I do a joke about the Bud Light transgender controversy.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay. Yeah.

[Brad Williams]

And when I was writing that joke the first time I told it, the first version of that joke, I did not like the laugh. I got. I got a laugh. I'm like, ooh, that's. Look. That feels like I'm. I'm hurting people.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Brad Williams]

And I'm punching down. I don't want to do that. So the first version of the joke was completely different than the version that ended up in the special. But that retooling. It's that retooling and the struggle that makes it. When it does work, that makes it all the more satisfying. That makes that rush all the more satisfying when you go, yeah, I did it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Brad Williams]

It didn't work. I figured.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Figured it out. And it does.

[Brad Williams]

Any comedian that sits in this chair next to you and says, oh, I have. I don't bomb. They're lying. Any. Don't believe anything they say after that. Because every comedian bombs, man. Every comedian bombs. And what's important is that as you get into this business, you learn from the bomb. If you do something, it doesn't work. You just do it the same way the next time on stage. You didn't learn anything, right? So, yeah, learn something from the bomb. Learn something from failure.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Did you feel like, you know what? I've gotta be really good because there's not anybody that came before me that looks like me that's gonna tell jokes. So I've gotta. Because, you know, sometimes when you're the

[Brad Williams]

first kind of the rep. Yeah, yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You got. And you got to be able to take it on the chin. It's kinda like. And I'm not comparing what you did to Jackie Robinson working the color barrier, but I'm saying, you realize that.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And thankfully, there was one little person that I knew of that did it before me. Great, Great comic. Still doing it. Her name is Tanya Lee Davis. Okay, please look her up. She's fantastic. And so I had a little bit before me, but now I've gone past to where she got to, and I'm, like, selling out theaters. So it's very strange now because I don't get into this job thinking, all right, I'm gonna be a. A guiding light for the little people. Like, I'm not doing that. I'm doing it because I really like telling the jokes. But Sometimes I look out in the audience and I see young little people out in the audience. I'm like, oh, like, I'm. I'm.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Brad Williams]

I'm their guy.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Brad Williams]

Because it's the same way. Like, some people, they only support. They're. They're waiting on a certain superhero to look like them. So that. That could be their super. Super. That could be their superhero. Whether it be like, dude, my buddy, my opening act. Great comic names, JB Ball. He. He's a black guy, 6 foot 3, from Tampa. And he always tell me he loved the X Men, Bishop, because before that there were like, no black X Men. Which is weird because the comic, if you look into it, it's based on the relationship of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. And there's no black X Men, which is weird. But so he loved Bishop. Once Bishop came out, he's like, that's my guy. So I'm kind of like that with little people where it's like, oh, that's our guy now. And that's a lot of pressure. But at the same time, I'm totally fine with that pressure. And it's the most rewarding thing when little people come out to my show and then say, like, dude, you're doing us. Right.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Brad Williams]

I love that. That is the. Oh, that's one of the best compliments.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Where are your own jokes? Stealing? Cause I've had a lot of comedians on here, and some says, I look, write a better joke. Some people like, nah, don't do that. If you gonna take somebody joke, give them credit for it. I prefer you not to do it. But some people like, hey, just write a better joke. Is that the last joke that you're gonna ever tell? Is that the best joke you've ever told and now somebody's telling you it and doing it better than you? Is that what you're upset about? So where are you on that, Brad?

[Brad Williams]

Dude, it's. It's the cardinal sin of comedy. Never do it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right?

[Brad Williams]

Never do it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I guess it's like ghost riding. If you're a rapper, don't. Hey, you don't get no ghost riders.

[Brad Williams]

Do it on your own. No. Now. Now, there have been times where I have gone on stage and I have told a joke, and someone will come up to me and say, hey, so and so does that joke. If someone tells me that, holy. I will look up the joke. I will be like, no, no. I will call the comedian. And then sometimes there's certain events that happen, current events, that there's only so many Perspectives you can write on it. Like, here's a prime example. There was a protest in Los angeles about, like, 12, 13 years ago. It was called A Day without a Mexican. Mexican. And it was supposed to be all. All the Mexicans in LA were supposed to stay home and prove that they're a valuable.

[Shannon Sharpe]

How much they're need.

[Brad Williams]

Part of the economy. And they did, and it was great. But I saw that and I was out driving that night and I was like, there's no traffic. There's no traffic in la.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Brad Williams]

This is the greatest thing ever. So that night I'm going on stage and I say, hey, day. Without a Mexican asking, holy shit, this is great. There's no traffic. And. And. And if you get into an accident, it's okay because, you know the other guy has insurance.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Brad Williams]

So that's a joke I told.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Brad Williams]

Literally the next night I go on stage and Jo Koy, great comment. Tells the same joke. He didn't see me tell it the night before.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Brad Williams]

He just experienced the same thing. And I went, all right. And then literally, like a week later, he did it on camera. Kimmel. So I go, that's your joke, right? That's yours.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You gave it up.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah. I'm not gonna fight him for that joke. No. And to your point, I can write more jokes now. Yeah. It's the worst thing to do in comedy because it's to get a joke that's completely original. There's a ton of comedians doing comedy. To get a joke that's completely original is really hard to do.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah. Because you guys are thinkers. I mean, you guys. I mean, to be able to. Comedian. To be a comedian, I mean, you have to be quick with it and you taking real events and you're making them funny, be it about something that you see or things that you've experienced.

[Brad Williams]

So it's the cardinal sin of comedy. Never do it. There was one time I was doing a show in Sacramento, and there was a little person that showed up to my show, and he goes, hey, I started doing comedy because of you. I'm a big fan. I'm like, holy crap. That's all. I go, do you want to go on tonight? Do you want to go on before me? He's like, like, can I? And I go, absolutely. So he goes on stage and he does seven minutes of my first album.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Like, he's all your material.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah. And it's not like. Because some comedians get very. There's like, you are doing a similar premise. Then there's. You're doing word for word. The joke he was doing, word for word, my act. And he gets off stage, and I'm like, big fan, huh? He's like, yeah, you don't even realize it. But so that I. I had to sit him down, have a conversation.

[Shannon Sharpe]

No, the objective is not to steal someone else material and try to be funny.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Your idea is to draw inspiration from said individual and create your own.

[Brad Williams]

Yes. And what's important is that. That if you get called out on it or if you get like. Like, oh, you did. You. You go, my bad.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So don't get offensive. Like, don't get.

[Brad Williams]

Don't do it again. Yeah, don't do it again. Like, there. There. There was. Okay, here. Here's. Here's me admitting when I started doing comedy, there's a comedian, Mexican comic named Johnny Sanchez.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Brad Williams]

The very first time I did comedy, I did two of his jokes, thankfully, because I didn't know the rules, right. Thankfully, someone came up to me and said, those are Johnny Sanchez jokes. And I'm like, damn. Oh, am I not supposed to do. And they're like, no, you are not supposed to do that. They were gone. They were gone the next day. So if it happens, all right. But, yeah, just don't. Don't make a habit of that. It's the worst thing you can do in comedy.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Who do you think the comedian that helped you the most, that got you. That got you started and like, Mencia.

[Brad Williams]

Yeah. That's an awkward transition to go from no joke stealing to. Let's talk about Carlos Mencia. Yeah, but they're so. Mencia has a reputation in the business, and a lot. And a lot of people accused him of joke stealing. I will never tell people that they're wrong. I will. I. I'm probably not. I'm probably not going to convince you, right, that if you think a certain way, you think a certain way. Okay, fine. But I will say this. That man took me on the road. He would pay for my hotel. He'd pay me. He would. If we go shopping. Hey, put whatever you want on my pile. I got it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You sure that wasn't you in that Diddy photo?

[Brad Williams]

I have never been in a diddy party. I have never been to a diddy party. I'd be scared because that man has a lot of baby oil and I fit in a lot of places. But, yeah, that's the guy that he. He brought me on the road. I was his opening act for four years. So that was my college. That was where I went and, like, really learned and stuff. Like that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Who do you think is one of the hardest comments to follow? I had. I had Bert Kreischer on. He said, ralph, Ralph May.

[Brad Williams]

Ralphie May. Ralph. You don't want to rip. Ralphie. Maybe May. Ralphie May was literally one of the hardest comics to follow. He is correct. Ralphie May would do this thing. He found out. He. He would find out where I was going, where I was touring, and if he knew where I was, where I was, he knew what morning radio I had to do the next day. So he would call into morning radio shows that I was on, and all of a sudden I would hear the DJ go, ralphie May's on the line. And I'd be like, I know what he's about to do. And Ralphie May would go on live radio and go, oh, my God, people of Cincinnati, let me tell you what. Brad Williams is going to be slinging dick all over your city. Oh, hide your ladies, guys. Don't bring your ladies to this show. Just come. Because Brad Williams got a big dick. He trips over that thing. He would call in, but he would always end it with, Brad's really funny. Go see him. And I would sell more tickets. Tickets. Because he would do that. Because that was before I was really known.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Brad Williams]

So, Ralphie, you never want to follow him. And. But also one of the nicest, best comedians if you don't know. Look, look his stuff up. Yeah, he's nowadays, man. Joey Diaz.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Brad Williams]

Really hard to follow. Oh, my God, So much energy. Bill. Bill Burr, Burt Kreischer. They're really. They're really great. Eliza Schlesinger. Really? Writer. There's a bunch of comedians. But I love. I. That's when I want to go on. I want to go on after the person just leveled the room.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right?

[Brad Williams]

Because I want to know.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You gotta raise. You gotta. You. Hey, you gotta go.

[Brad Williams]

Let's go. Iron sharpens iron. You know what I'm saying? Yes. So, like, I want there to be a guest spot and a big name walks in the room and wrecks the room. And then I. And then I gotta. I gotta go on.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You gotta follow that.

[Brad Williams]

I love that. It's like, I'm sure you guys got up for playing, you know, when it's the other big team in the league.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Absolutely, absolutely.

[Brad Williams]

Getting up for that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Brad Williams]

Because we know everybody's watching exactly when, when, when, when. Sunday Night Football or when you were playing Monday Night Football. Yep, that's the game, man.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes. Cuz I know. We have everybody's undivided attention now. I, I'm following somebody that just brought the house down. Yeah, I want them to say, hey, he was good, but the guy that

[Brad Williams]

came on after him, oh, dude, that's what I want. If I'm at the Comedy Store and Bill Burr goes on stage and wrecks the room, I want to go on right after that because there will be some people in that audience that don't know who I am, that know who Bill Burr is. And Bill Burr did what Bill Burr was expected to do, but then this guy that they don't know came up and wrecked it after him. Yeah. Who's that? Yeah, I want, I, I, I, I want that smoke. Bring it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

This concludes the first half of my conversation. Part two is also posted and you can access it to whichever podcast platform you just listened to part one on. Just simply go back to Club Shay Shay profile and I'll see you there.