Pharrell’s Grammy Bellboy Outfit Prompts Jokes, Slurs; Zach Braff Apologizes
Apparently, Pharrell’s “Happy” performance at the Grammys Sunday left many viewers confused. His bellboy costume in particular became fodder for online jokes, some them (intentionally or not) quite distasteful.
One of the more popular Twitter punchlines compared Pharrell’s look to that of uniformed flying monkeys in The Wizard of Oz. The problem? Comparing African Americans to monkeys is one of the most offensive racial slurs imaginable.
On Sunday night, Scrubs actor Zach Braff jokingly shared a side-by-side picture of Pharrell and a furry simian from the film:
The post sparked intense debate online, with Braff finding a number of supporters and detractors:
Braff posted an apology on Monday, claiming that his reference was inspired by his voiceover role as a monkey in the 2013 film Oz the Great and Powerful:
Although Pharrell has not publicly responded to the controversy, he did allude to his rationale for the wardrobe choice during his Grammy Awards performance, and in a tweet posted on his account on Sunday.
At the end of his Grammy set, he looked above and said, “Thank you, God. I forgot to say it earlier, but as you can see, I am at your service, Lord.”
The last tweet on his Twitter page echoes that statement:
A correlation between a bellboy and “service” seem plausible. Pharrell did not describe how he defined being at the Lord’s service, but the performance did make some positive statements — the song lyrics are uplifting, and he appeared to be paying homage to late teens Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, who were fatally shot by a neighborhood watch coordinator and policeman, respectively. Some of Pharrell’s dancers wore hoodies and paused to raise their hands to gesture “Don’t shoot.”
The fact that a performance intended to address racism instead invited racist remarks was ironic, and more than a little bit sad.
