During a time where music legend Pharrell should be celebrating the debut of his forthcoming animated documentary “Piece by Piece,” he’s instead having to deal with hecklers hellbent on hampering the mood.
This week, during the fifth night of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the “Happy” singer took the stage at the Princess of Wales Theatre to share a few concluding remarks and begin a Q&A about his new film. Not too long after he got up there, a heckler from PETA, the animal rights group, abruptly joined him onstage yelling “Stop torturing animals” as she shirked being grabbed by onsite security.
If you’re wondering why someone from PETA would have beef with Pharrell in the first place, that’s because the “Frontin’” singer was named as the new Men’s Creative Director for Louis Vuitton back in June 2023. The luxury label has long been accused by PETA and others of unethically using animals to produce their handbags and other items over the years.
Once she got down from onstage, she continued to yell in front of the crowd. But what happened next is what has the internet buzzing.
Instead of ordering security to just whisk her away, Pharrell took the time to acknowledge what the protestor was saying, affirming her chants.
“You’re right. You’re right. You’re right. God bless you. God bless you,” the “Lemon” rapper said before encouraging the crowd to give her applause.
Once the woman was finally removed, he took a moment to address the interruption, telling the audience:
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 and help progression.
That’s no 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’ve just asked me, I would have told her. But instead she wanted to repeat herself.
Talk about a gracious clapback! Naturally, as the clip of the ordeal began to make its rounds on social media, users online praised the “Beautiful” singer for handling himself and the protestor with grace and decorum.
“This is great for a few reasons. 1) she didn’t expect him to acknowledge her. When he did, her brain broke. The dog caught the car. 2) it highlights one of the lost threads in disruptive protest. She was only prepared to chant, not speak. 3) Pharrell handled it masterfully,” wrote one user on X/Twitter.
“Pharrell just killed her with kindness,” wrote DJ Nasty in the comments on The ShadeRoom’s post about the incident.
Added another user on TSR, “He just gave a MASTER CLASS on dealing with negativity. I needed that.”
“This why the nigga don’t age. He really don’t stress shit,” another joked.
“She thought he was gonna be aggressive lmaooo instead he hit her with the ‘because I’m happy,’” another jokingly wrote.
Pharrell’s forthcoming feature hits theaters October 11.
