Pharrell has made his share of controversial statements about Ferguson since Michael Brown was shot and killed this summer. His most recent statements — made to Billboard backstage at The Voice in Los Angeles — are more gloomy than flammable, however.
"My feelings have been the same since that boy was murdered," Williams said. "Everyone is heartbroken. It's another teen, unarmed teen gunned down."
Williams apparently refused to comment on news of protests and school walkouts.
"It's not really about what I think," he said. "It's about what you're going to do. What are you going to do? He's a teen who is gone. He was gunned down. What are you going to do? You understand what I'm saying? That's why it hurts. Because you have no answer. None of us do. He's gone. That hurts."
The veteran R&B star stirred up controversy with his comments about the situation earlier this month.
"I don't talk about race since it takes a very open mind to hear my view, because my view is the sky view," he told Ebony. "But I'm very troubled by what happened in Ferguson, Mo."
The controversy stemmed from his description of Brown.
"It looked very bully-ish; that in itself I had a problem with," he said. "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?"
He also made waves in April (before the Ferguson shooting) with a philosophy he offered to Oprah Winfrey.
"The New Black doesn't blame other races for our issues," he said at the time. "The New Black dreams and [realizes] that it's not pigmentation: it's a mentality and it's either going to work for you or it's going to work against you. And you've got to pick the side you're going to be on."
I'm heartbroken over the news of no indictment in Ferguson. Let's all pray for peace.
— Pharrell Williams (@Pharrell) November 25, 2014
