Elevate your local knowledge

Sign up for the iNFOnews newsletter today!

Select Region

Selecting your primary region ensures you get the stories that matter to you first.

Pharrell on Ferguson grand jury: Everyone is heartbroken

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Pharrell Williams says “everyone is heartbroken” there was no grand jury indictment of a white police officer in the killing of a black Missouri teen.

Williams tweeted about the decision last week and said in an interview late Monday that his perspective on the case hasn’t changed since the shooting in August.

“My feelings have been the same since that boy was murdered,” Williams said backstage at “The Voice” in Los Angeles, where he’s a coach. “Everyone is heartbroken. It’s another teen, unarmed teen gunned down.”

The “Happy” hitmaker has been among the most high-profile recording artists to weigh in on the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson and the racially charged aftermath, in a recently published Ebony magazine interview and elsewhere.

“So I mean, what are we going to do, though? What are we going to do about it?” he said.

He declined comment on ongoing protests including school walkouts across the country.

“It’s not really about what I think. It’s about what you’re going to do. What are you going to do? He’s a teen who is gone,” Williams said. “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.”

News from © The Associated Press, . All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Join the Conversation!

Want to share your thoughts, add context, or connect with others in your community?

The Associated Press

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day.