Pharrell Williams told a PETA protester that she was “right” when she interrupted his panel at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The singer was speaking after a screening for his new Lego-animated documentary Piece By Piece, when a woman ran to the stage holding a sign that read, “Pharrell: Stop Supporting Killing Animals For Fashion.”
Williams — who is Louis Vuitton’s Men’s Creative Director as well as running his own Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream streetwear lines — repeatedly said: “You’re right. God bless you.”
He urged security to stand down and let him handle things himself. The protester kept shouting as he tried to talk.
“Yes, I have. I have; you’re right,” Williams added.
The unknown protester was eventually escorted out. Williams addressed the audience in the room as he insisted you need to be “in a position of power” to change people’s perceptions.
“You know, Rome wasn’t made in a day,” the “Happy” singer said, “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 and help progression.”
“That is not necessarily the way to do it,” Williams continued. “Sitting in my position, when I have conversations on behalf of organizations like that unbeknownst to [the protesters], they come out here and do themselves a disservice.”
“That’s okay,” Williams stated. “When that change comes, everybody in this room will remember that I told you we are actually working on that. And if she would’ve just asked me, I would’ve told her. But instead, she wanted to repeat herself.”
PETA, or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals — who also protested his Olympic party in the summer — urged Pharrell to makes changes “now.”
“You made this same comment in Paris in July at your Olympics kick-off party,” the organization wrote on its website. “It doesn’t take ‘work’ to make a decision to stop doing something that most designers have already stopped doing. You have the power to make an important change now, and if you don’t, you should take it somewhere where you can.”
