Back when "Blurred Lines" first came out, one of its writers, Pharrell Williams, didn't understand why people were so upset.
Now, six years later, Pharrell is finally is speaking out.
Back when "Blurred Lines" first came out, one of its writers, Pharrell Williams, didn't understand why people were so upset.
Now, six years later, Pharrell is finally is speaking out.
In case you didn't know, the song, also featuring Robin Thicke and T.I., became a major source of controversy back in 2013.
All of this led people to believe that the song perpetuated rape culture.
It featured topless models, a highly-criticized move that was deemed as objectifying women.
"It promotes a very worrying attitude towards sex and consent," said Kirsty Haigh, vice-president of services at Edinburgh University Students' Association.
He told GQ:
"I didn't get it at first. Because there were older white women who, when that song came on, they would behave in some of the most surprising ways ever."
"So when there started to be an issue with it, lyrically, I was, like,' What are you talking about?'"
"So it's like, What's rapey about that?"
This means that a lot of the stuff he grew up with back then "wouldn't fly today."
"And then I realized that there are men who use that same language when taking advantage of a woman, and it doesn't matter that that's not my behavior," he said.
"My mind opened up to what was actually being said in the song and how it could make someone feel."
"Even though it wasn't the majority, it didn't matter. I cared what they were feeling too."
"Didn't realize that some of my songs catered to that. So that blew my mind."
He said:
"Some of my old songs, I would never write or sing today. I get embarrassed by some of that stuff. It just took a lot of time and growth to get to that place."
For the rest of Pharrell's GQ interview, you can check it out here!