Seth Rogen has claimed Pharrell Williams confronted him about an interview where he said the ‘Happy’ singer was “frustrated”.
The comedy actor is currently appearing in The Invite, which centres around an awkward dinner party between neighbours. Promoting the film for Entertainment Weekly, he and co-star Olivia Wilde discussed awkward moments at dinner parties, and the unique anecdote came up.
“I was at a dinner and I had made the Lion King movie and I sing in the movie,” Rogen explained. “And I had been doing interviews and I’ve been talking about how Pharrell Williams got really frustrated with my singing. Then I was at a dinner and Pharrell was there and he was like, ‘Hey, I don’t like how you suggest that I got frustrated with your singing.’”
He continued: “I was like, ‘you did [get frustrated]’, and then he was like ‘I don’t like you suggesting that I feel frustration’. And I’m like: ‘you’re feeling it right now, Pharrell. It’s happening. It’s happening at this dinner.’”
Rogen played Pumbaa in the 2019 remake of Disney’s The Lion King, in which Williams served as co-producer for selected songs in the soundtrack. Since the comment, a 2018 MovieWeb interview has re-emerged where Rogen said: “I literally had Pharrell Williams banging his head against a wall trying to extract like a fucking good note out of me. I’m like someone less famous would actually be more helpful. It’s like the last thing I need.” He compared it to being taught to ride a motorcycle by Evel Knievel.
In January, Williams made headlines after it was reported that he faces a new lawsuit from former Neptunes partner Chad Hugo, who claims that he has been denied royalties for the last N.E.R.D. album ‘No One Ever Really Dies’.