Pharrell Tells Critics To ‘Sound Bite This’ in Rant After Backlash Over His Politics

“Happy” singer and super producer Pharrell Williams gave a fiery speech in response to critics calling him a “sellout” amid backlash over his political comments.

via: Billboard

“I hate politics,” he said. “Like, despise them. It’s a magic trick. It’s not real. I don’t believe in either side. Because I think when you pick a side, you are inadvertently supporting division.” He then brought up diversity, equity and inclusion and said you should support businesses not because of skin color, but because they’re the best. “Now diversity is off the table, equity’s off the table, now inclusion’s off the table,” he began. “So, that makes me…I asked myself, ‘Okay, how do we survive?’ Well, are there Black people here tonight? And in your heart, do you think for what it is that you do, do you think you’re the best? Do you want the job because you’re Black or because you’re the best? Do you want someone to support your startup because you’re Black or because you’re the best?”

After receiving the Shoe of the Year award for his Virginia Adistar Jellyfish collab with Adidas at the Footwear News Achievement Awards recently, the Men’s Creative Director for Louis Vuitton decided to dedicate his speech to address to criticism he’s been getting online. “Sound bite this: since most people don’t like to read or do research anymore,” he began. “Sound bite this: God is the greatest. Sound bite this: I’m from Virginia. Sound bite this: You don’t know what I know. You ain’t seen what I saw. No, you ain’t been where I go. I’m from the mud. As a child, nobody’s been evicted more times than me, lights turned off, water turned off, and at times, had to pump the water.”

He then referred to himself as a lumpenproletariat which, in Marxist theory, defines a class of individuals that are apathetic to class consciousness and revolutionary advancement. “Sound bite this: Don’t be fooled by my bourgeois taste and heart. I’m proletariat,” he continued. “In fact, I’m lumpenproletariat. Sound bite this: I had to stay on my feet. Sound bite this: But I could never walk in the shoes of my parents’ parents’ parents, etc. All they had to endure while staying on their feet. Or my ancestors, who arrived as captives, enslaved, who had no shoes yet had to stay on their feet as they landed on the shores of Virginia. As Black and Brown people on this earth, we have to stay on our feet. We have never had a choice. Sound bite this: we’ve needed empathy for someone to walk in ours shoes.”

Adding, “That’s why sound bite this: we created ‘Black Ambition,’ a philanthropic effort to support, resource, and mentor Black and Brown startups. Sound bite this: we have allocated $85 million dollars to Black and Brown startups. Sound bite this: that’s where the soundbite of me saying I hate politics, which was in response to the DEI support and donations drying up because of new policies. So yes, I got frustrated, and the sound biters, they caught me lacking. But sound bite this: I will never stop fighting. I will never stop raising money to help level the playing field. Never.”

Pharrell has been outspoken about politics in his own way. Last November, he told The Hollywood Reporter that tends to take a neutral approach and compared his stance to that of a federal employee. “This is what they do, come rain or shine, whether it’s a Democrat or a Republican in office, you show up to work every day, you serve your country,” he said. In the same interview, he also admitted to being annoyed by celebrity endorsements. “I don’t do politics. In fact, I get annoyed sometimes when I see celebrities trying to tell you [who to vote for],” he said. “There are celebrities that I respect that have an opinion, but not all of them. I’m one of them people [who says], “What the heck? Shut up. Nobody asked you.’”

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How about you soundbite shutting the fuck up, Pharrell. Once again this Louis Vuitton DEI hire is missing the point of why people are clowning you. He really thinks because he lived poor for a small portion of his life that it makes him somewhat "relatable" to so many Americans suffering today.

We're not judging your past. We're judging you on what you recently said regarding you saying "be the best and you will get the job you desire" as well as your comments regarding DEI.

You running down your poverty resume should give you the knowledge that would put you in a position to want to make changes for a better world. Not spoonfeed people some tired "pull yourself up the corporate latter" speech. That same latter that when people like you clmb up it you end up pulling the latter up behind you.

You cannot say you are of the working class when you are in fact wealthier than than the average working class person, and you performed for the IDF, who are all about annihilating poor brown people.

For someone who claims he hates politics, didn't you help raise $60 million for the IDF, and was paid to sing that insufferable "Happy" song for them?

So for someone who claims he hates politics and doesn't take sides, did you actually look into the people you were performing for before you cashed the check? Since you have no idea how Google works, let me give you a bit of research.

Israel has on it's books a two-tier legal system that is reminiscent of the Jim Crow south in America in how it treats Palestinians. and let's not ignore the systemic obstacles put in the way of black people in this country currently. But I guess you wouldn't know that because you're busy living out of the county while you have other people make your shit for LV.

Pharrell says he's not political, but based on his actions, it's clear as day that he's nothing more than a capitalist.

All you had to do is apologize for your comments about DEI, but his ego won't allow him to take the L. I guess my gripe is I'm sick of people like Pharrell, Snoop, Koonye, Nicki Minaj and the laundry list of other celebrities who assert themselves into political situations without doing the proper research.

At a time where fascists are standing on our doorstep, and millions of diverse lives are on the line, we don't have time for tired ass soundbites.