Why Pharrell Was Fired From This Fast Food Job Three Times
Pharrell Williams didn't make McDonald's too "Happy" when he was an employee for them.
The musician, 51, revealed that he was fired from the fast food joint three times before he made a name for himself in the music industry.
"McDonald's was my first and only job," he told BBC Radio 2 on Tuesday, Nov. 5. "I got fired three times. I was eating the chicken nuggets."
He continued, "The first two times it was just because I was lazy. The third was like, 'What are you doing? You're just sitting there eating nuggets?'"
Pharrell has since left the service industry to pursue music. He got his big break with his music production duo, The Neptunes, in 1992 when they produced hits like Justin Timberlake's "Rock Your Body," Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl," Nelly's "Hot in Herre" and Snoop Dogg's "Drop It Like It's Hot."
They also wrote and produced Britney Spears' 2001 hit, "I'm A Slave 4 U," but he recently admitted that he had regrets about using the word "slave" in the title.
"Well, that's not a word to play with these days," he told The Hollywood Reporter in September 2024. "And there's many different angles, right?"
He added, "Obviously, what my people and my DNA and my ancestors had to endure and overcome, but then there's also all the atrocity that happens in human trafficking every day."
"So, no, that's not something I would say," he concluded. "There are a lot of songs that, as the era changes from one day to the next, what was contextually acceptable at one time is no longer acceptable. But I think that's for the better...I think there are a lot of songs where I wouldn't say half the things that I said before. As the time changes, so does mentality and hopefully it evolves to a better place. And it's not about being politically correct, it's about being universally aware."
He went on to form the band N.E.R.D in 1999 and then pursued solo collaborations such as "Blurred Lines" with Robin Thicke and T.I. and "Get Lucky" with Daft Punk.
His entire career became the focus of the animated documentary, Piece by Piece, which was released in October 2024.
