Pharrell Williams’ premiere of his LEGO biopic Piece by Piece at the Toronto International Film Festival got a little more action than planned when a PETA protester crashed the event.
“Your Louis Vuitton collection…Pharrell’s collection is made from their blood,” a protestor yelled while holding a “Pharrell: Stop Supporting Killing Animals for Fashion” sign. “Pharrell stop torturing animals! Ostriches are being hung upside down, electrocuted with their necks slit!”
Pharrell responded with, “You’re right, you’re right, God bless you, it’s OK,” and even encouraged the audience to applaud the protester as she was escorted out.
After the protester was removed, Pharrell addressed her objections directly, and told the audience, “Rome wasn’t made in a day. And sometimes, when you have plans to change things and situations, you have to get in a situation of power and of influence where you can change people’s minds and help progression.”
PETA, never one to miss a viral moment, posted the whole thing on X, throwing shade and demanding Pharrell ditch fur and go faux.
We CRASHED @Pharrell’s @pbpthemovie premiere at @TIFF_NET to remind the @LouisVuitton men’s creative director that animals suffer for fur & wildlife skins.
Do the right thing and switch to faux & vegan alternatives NOW! pic.twitter.com/Uf5mb1nly9
— PETA (@peta) September 10, 2024
PETA executive vice president Tracy Reiman added, “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.”
