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Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
Pharrell Williams is facing criticism for recent comments he made about celebrities endorsing candidates in the 2024 US presidential election.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the 51-year-old singer was asked if he would let the Democratic or Republican parties use his music in their campaigns. He responded that he doesn’t “do politics.”
He then criticized celebrities who have shared who they’re voting for, days after Taylor Swift endorsed Democratic nominees Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
“I get annoyed sometimes when I see celebrities trying to tell you [who to vote for],” Williams told the publication. “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.’
“When people get out there and get self-righteous and they roll up their sleeves and shit, and they are out there walking around with a placard: ‘Shut up!’”
While he clarified that he will be voting in the election, he emphasized that he doesn’t want to speak publicly about his political stance.
“So, no, I would rather stay out of the way, and obviously, I’m going to vote how I’m going to vote,” Williams concluded. “I care about my people and I care about the country, but I feel there’s a lot of work that needs to be done, and I’m really about the action.”
On X (formerly Twitter), fans have slammed Williams’ remarks.
“Just because YOU don’t do politics doesn’t mean other celebrities can’t… And just because YOU weren’t asked who you were voting for (because nobody cares) doesn’t mean other celebrities aren’t asked,” one wrote.
“Respectfully disagree, Pharrell. Informed voices can educate,” another responded to Williams’ comment.
“Celebrities should talk about politics, millions of people follow them, it is their responsibility to give advice on choosing the right leader,” a third wrote.
“‘I don’t do politics,’ says one of the most influential, wealthiest music creators of his generation,” another wrote. “If you unironically say and mean ‘I don’t do politics,’ then you’re either sitting in a place of privilege beyond the average person’s understanding, or you’re willfully ignorant.”
Immediately after the presidential debate between Harris and Trump on September 10, Swift took to Instagram to officially endorse the Democratic nominees.
“I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election. I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them. I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos,” the “Fortnight” singer wrote. “I was so heartened and impressed by her selection of running mate @timwalz, who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades.”
In her post, the Grammy winner shared a snap of herself posing with her cat – Benjamin Button – along with an apparent dig at Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance, as she signed her message: “Childless Cat Lady.”
On September 17, which is National Voter Registration Day, Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas also endorsed Harris. “We are voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz because they are fighting to protect our reproductive freedom, our planet and our democracy,” the “Bad Guy” singer said.
”We can’t let extremists control our lives, our freedoms and our future. The only way to stop them and the dangerous Project 2025 agenda is to vote and elect Kamala Harris,” Finneas added, with Eilish concluding: “Vote like your life depends on it because it does.”
Project 2025 — a blueprint for Trump’s presidency spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation and more than a dozen former Trump administration officials — is essentially a wishlist for his administration with plans to expand his executive authority, replace civil servants with ideologically aligned appointees, crush abortion rights and impose an anti-immigrant agenda, among other policies.
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