Yesterday (September 10), Pharrell was hosting a screening of his new Lego-animated biopic movie Piece By Piece. At the event, he came face-to-face with a sign-wielding protestor, but he handled the situation calmly and confidently.
As Newsweek notes, the protester was there in support of PETA, and they had a sign that read, “Pharrell: Stop Killing Animals For Fashion,” presumably in reference to his position as Men’s Creative Director for Louis Vuitton. She was also heard yelling, “Stop torturing animals.” Pharrell kept his cool as he repeatedly told the person, “I know,” “You’re right,” and “I’m working on it,” before they were taken away.
He then spoke about what just happened to the audience, saying:
“Let me address that. You know, Rome wasn’t made in a day, and sometimes when you have plans to change things and situations, you have to get in a position of power and of influence, where you can change people’s minds progression. That’s not necessarily the way to do it, and sitting in my position, when I have conversations on behalf of organizations like that, unbeknownst to them, they come out here and do themselves a disservice. That’s OK: When that change comes, everybody in this room, will remember that I told you we’re actually working on that, and if she would have just asked me, I would have told her. But instead, she wanted to repeat herself.”
PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman issued a statement after the incident that says, “We would be happy to stop disrupting Pharrell’s appearances but despite a lot of lip service, he’s yet to ditch fur and exotic skins. Pharrell can decide in a heartbeat, today, to use his power for good and stop being complicit in cruelty — it’s quite easy to be kind.”
Watch a video of the incident here.