“Happy” singer and super producer Pharrell Williams gave a fiery speech in response to critics calling him a “sellout” amid backlash over his political comments.

Williams — who is also the Men’s Creative Director for Louis Vuitton — said he refuses to pick a side, comparing them to some kind of “magic trick.”

In his view, the moment someone does, they end up reinforcing division — and that’s when diversity, equity, and inclusion start disappearing from the conversation. And he’s not holding back.

Pharrell Williams delivers a spicy speech while accepting the Shoe of the Year Award at the 2025 Footwear News Achievement Awards. (Photo: Erika Goldring/Getty Images)

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While speaking at Black Ambition Demo Day in Miami after being presented with a key to the city, Williams said he hated politics because they are divisive.

“Because I think when you pick a side, you are inadvertently supporting division. Now diversity is off the table, equity’s off the table, now inclusion’s off the table,” he said in November. “So, that makes me … I asked myself, ‘OK, how do we survive?’ Well, are there Black people here tonight? And in your heart, do you think for what it is that you do, do you think you’re the best?

Speaking directly to the room, Williams posed a few more pointed questions: “Do you want the job because you’re Black or because you’re the best? Do you want someone to support your startup because you’re Black or because you’re the best?”

Needless to say, his comments about Black-owned businesses did not go over well, and he pushed back against the negative criticism while speaking at the 39th annual Footwear News Achievement Awards at Cipriani 25 Broadway.

While in New York City on Dec. 3 to accept the Shoe of the Year Award. Williams began his speech with, “Soundbite this.”

“Since most people don’t like to read or do research anymore, sound bite this — God is the greatest. Sound bite this — I’m from Virginia. Soundbite this — You don’t know what I know. You ain’t seen what I saw. No, you ain’t been where I go,” he continued.

The Virginia native went on to describe growing up “from the mud,” saying instability was a constant in his childhood. He recalled being evicted more times than he could count, with the lights and water repeatedly shut off — and at one point, even having to pump water just to get by.

Williams went on to talk about his enslaved ancestors and being a “lumpenproletariat,” which is a Marxist term defined as the marginalized underclass and outcasts.

“Sound bite this,” he continued. “Don’t be fooled by my bourgeois taste and heart. I’m proletariat. In fact, I’m lumpenproletariat. Soundbite this — I had to stay on my feet. Sound bite this — But I could never walk in the shoes of my parents’ parents’ parents, etc. All they had to endure while staying on their feet. Or my ancestors, who arrived as captives, enslaved, who had no shoes yet had to stay on their feet as they landed on the shores of Virginia.”

He added, “As Black and Brown people on this earth, we have to stay on our feet. We have never had a choice. Soundbite this — we’ve needed empathy for someone to walk in our shoes.”

Williams’ decision to double down was widely criticized on social media as several users noted things like, “He should have just let it pass,” and “Man, Pharrell, [Shut Up], respectfully.”

Another user replied that the “Frontin’” singer missed an opportunity. “Sound bite d-eeezzzz!!! He missed that opportunity.”

One user tagged the musician and replied, “I don’t think this is the flex you thought it would be.”

“Ok like you are the only one that had to struggle. People are still struggling, and you get rich and change. While you close your eyes to it, you have so much to say because people checked you on it,” added another.

Journalist Roland Martin reacted on “Roland Martin Unfiltered” after Williams said he hated politics and exclaimed, “What Pharrell just said there is really some of the dumbest stuff I ever heard!”

‘Man, Pharrell Shut Up’: Pharrell Williams Dares Critics to ‘Soundbite This’ as He Addresses Outrage Over His Political Comments