Pharrell Williams prefers to stay out of politics, contradictory to the dozens of other artists — Barbara Streisand, Lady Gaga, Megan Thee Stallion to name a few — who expressed support for Vice President Kamala Harris during the run up to Election Day. However, the multi-hyphenate artist shut down accusations that he previously dissed Taylor Swift‘s endorsement of Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. In a GQ cover story Wednesday, Williams clarified that he’s a fan of her work and purchased a 1989 t-shirt in 2023.
“I love her,” Williams said of Swift. “I love people, bro. That was some right-wing troll shit. But I heard something the other day that made the most sense in the world: Right-wing, left-wing, all the same bird.”
Williams has long touted himself as a nonpartisan humanitarian. Following the release of his Lego block doc Piece by Piece, Williams called himself a federal employee, indifferent about which political party stands in elected office, while adding the aside, “Not sure I’ll ever vote far right.” The “Happy” artist prefers to operate on the outskirts of politics, directing his energy to his own education equity nonprofit Yellow, as an example, and emphasized that he gets “annoyed” by celebrity endorsements, in a Hollywood Reporter interview.
“There are celebrities that I respect that have an opinion, but not all of them,” Williams said, in an article published Sept. 11. “I’m one of them people [who says], “What the heck? Shut up. Nobody asked you.”
His remarks released the day after Swift shared a social media post endorsing the Democratic running mates, calling Harris ” steady-handed, gifted leader” and Walz an advocate for “LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades.”
“I choose words,” Williams told GQ. “I wish there could be no loss of life, and people could discuss their differences. But I also know that the world doesn’t work that way. And again, that’s the reason why I say to certain questions, like, man, don’t ask me, because I’m a celebrity, what I think about this or what I think about that. I’m of no authority. Don’t ask me.”
