Animal rights activist group PETA interrupted the premiere of Pharrell‘s Lego biopic “Piece by Piece” at the Toronto International Film Festival Tuesday in protest of his work as Louis Vuitton’s men’s creative director.
A PETA protestor rushed the stage as the post-screening question and answer segment was about to begin, holding a sign that read, “Pharrell: Stop Supporting Killing Animals for Fashion.”
“Your Louis Vuitton collection…Pharrell’s collection is made from their blood,” they shouted. “Pharrell stop torturing animals! Ostriches are being hung upside down, electrocuted with their necks slit!”
Pharrell responded to the interruption, stating, “You’re right, you’re right, god bless you, it’s OK,” before encouraging the crowd to applaud the protestor. The protestor continued to yell, “Pharrell stop torturing animals,” as she was escorted out of the theater.
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.”
He continued, “That is not necessarily the way to do it, and sitting in my position, when I have conversations on behalf of organizations like that unbeknownst to them, they come out here and do themselves a disservice. But that’s OK, when that change comes, everybody in this room will remember that I told you, we are actually working on that. And if she would’ve just asked me, I would’ve told her. But instead, she wanted to repeat herself.”
PETA posted a video of the protest on X (formally Twitter), and wrote, “We CRASHED, Pharell’s [‘Piece by Piece’] premiere at [TIFF] to remind the Louis Vuitton men’s creative director that animals suffer for fur & wildlife skins. Do the right thing and switch to faux & vegan alternatives NOW!”
In an official statement issued to Variety, PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman said in response to Pharrell, “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.”
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