He may have given the world a hit called ‘Happy’ but Pharrell Williams certainly wasn’t happy this weekend at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. So irked was the American singer that he cut his set short by 15 minutes after getting angry at fans among the 30,000-strong crowd lobbing light-up wristbands onto the stage. Before storming out, Pharrell did his best to control the excited crowds and even begged them to calm down as he performed with Alicia Keys. His requests fell on deaf ears and the unruly F1 fans continued their disorderly conduct.
Pharrell said: “This is the liveliest city right now on the planet but we have also got to be the safest. I know you guys are excited and I know you are wanting to throw your wrist gadgets and lights and all that, but you can’t as the girls are dancing. And me? I love women, how about you?” The “Drop It Like It’s Hot” singer added, “We must protect our women so if you want to throw them lights you have to throw them the other way, not at the stage. Who understands what I’m saying?”
As the wristbands continued to fly, Pharrell shouted: “Let’s take those stupid wristbands and throw them in the air right now when I count to three. And now we are done.” A source told The Sun, “Alicia and Pharrell were absolutely amazing but he’d clearly had enough by the end of it. He left the stage about 15 minutes before he was meant to because he didn’t want any of his dancers to get hit by the wristbands. It was a real shame because the show had been so good.” Martin Garrix headlined the weekend’s festivities alongside Williams and Alicia Keys.
