Singer Pharrell Williams has caused a heated debate on Twitter after entering the controversy over the shooting of black teenager Michael Brown.
The 41-year-old star told Ebony magazine he was ‘troubled’ by a grand jury’s decision not to indict a white police officer who fired on Brown in Ferguson, Missouri – which has sparked violent protests across the US.
But Pharrell added that he thinks Brown’s behaviour just before the shooting was ‘bully-ish,’ causing some Twitter users to vehemently disagree with his comments.
Pharrell told Ebony: ““I don’t talk about race since it takes a very open mind to hear my view, because my view is the sky view. But I’m very troubled by what happened in Ferguson, M.”
The section of the interview that has angered some people on Twitter is as follows:
EBONY: Did you see the video allegedly showing Michael Brown stealing from a convenience store minutes before his death?
WILLIAMS: It looked very bully-ish; that in itself I had a problem with. Not with the kid, but with whatever happened in his life for him to arrive at a place where that behavior is OK. Why aren’t we talking about that?”
The exchange has caused a flurry of responses, including one Twitter user who wrote: “Mike Brown was a bully says Pharrell Williams. So do we get pass to shoot bullies in society? Way to go Pharrell. Fox news says hi.”
It’s worth reading the full interview in order to keep things in context. Pharrell also says he believes President Obama should have visited Ferguson.
Several major news organizations have picked-up on Pharrell’s comments over night, including the New York Daily News.
Meanwhile, you can keep up with breaking news on the Ferguson situation via FilmOn.com, where there are hundreds of free live web TV channels to choose from, including the BBC (embedded below).
* If video players fails to load in some regions go to www.FilmOn.com and search for news channels.
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