Animal rights supporter interrupted “Pieces By Piece” debut at Toronto Film Festival with a sign decrying use of wild animal skins in singer’s Louis Vuitton-curated men’s collection.
The Toronto Film Festival premiere of Pharrell Williams‘ LEGO-fied animated biopic Piece By Piece on Tuesday night (Sept. 10) was interrupted by an animal rights protester who stormed the stage during a Q&A session after the screening of the film.
The unnamed woman ran on stage at the Princess of Wales Theatre waving a sign that read: “Pharrell stop supporting killing animals for fashion” and decrying the singer’s use of wild animal skins and furs in his role as creative director of the Louis Vuitton men’s collection; Williams was named as Louis Vuitton’s men’s creative director in Feb. 2023. Shouting “Pharrell stop torturing animals!,” the activist scurried away from security guards chasing her and hopped onto the floor in front of the stage as Williams addressed her directly.
“You know what? You’re right,” he said in video of the moment as she continued her protest, repeatedly telling her “you’re right… God bless you” as the crowd erupted into applause. “It’s okay. Everybody give her a round of applause please,” Williams added as he encouraged the audience to repeat “God bless you” while security escorted the woman out of the auditorium.
Once she was removed, Williams took a moment to address her protest, saying, “You know, Rome wasn’t made in a day and sometimes when you have plans to change things and situations you have to get in a position of power and influence where you can change people’s minds and help progression.”
He then seemed to offer that the protest was not the best way to affect change in the fashion industry, while suggesting that he’s already trying to turn the tide behind the scenes. “That’s not necessarily the way to do it and sitting in my position, when I have conversations on behalf of organizations like that, unbeknownst to them, they come out here and do themselves a disservice,” he said. “That’s okay, when that change comes everybody in this room will remember that I told you we’re actually working on that. And if she would have just asked me, I would have told her. But instead she wanted to repeat herself.”
In an Instagram post about the interruption, PETA wrote, “We CRASHED @pharrell’s @piecebypiecefilm premiere at @tiff_net to remind the @louisvuitton men’s creative director that animals suffer for fur & wildlife skins. Do the right thing and switch to faux & vegan alternatives NOW!”
Back in June 2023, PETA executive vice president Tracy Reiman issued a statement responding to Williams’ use of fur in his then-new collection for the fashion house. “Instead of being the creative innovator Louis Vuitton desperately needs to stay relevant, Pharrell Williams debuted a collection that belongs in a history museum. Tormenting and killing animals to wear bits of their body parts alienates today’s socially conscious consumers, who are driving the demand for luxurious vegan materials that leave animals in peace. If mutilating animals makes Williams happy, PETA hopes his stint at Louis Vuitton will be as short-lived as the animals who suffer for his awful fashion sense.”
The animal rights organization said at the time that it had sent a letter to Williams urging him to ban fur and reptile skins in his role at LV, sharing links to an investigation by PETA Asia that claimed “rampant animal abuse at facilities that supply Louis Vuitton’s parent company, LVMH,” including a graphic description of the way the company’s workers treat crocodiles.
In a statement after the TIFF interruption, Reiman said that the organization would like to stop disrupting Williams’ appearances, “but despite a lot of lip service, he’s yet to ditch fur and exotic skins. Pharrell can decide in a heartbeat, today, to use his power for good and stop being complicit in cruelty — it’s quite easy to be kind.”
The Hollywood Reporter reported that PETA activists also protested a press and industry screening for the Morgan Neville-directed film that also features the voices of many of the 13-time Grammy winner’s past collaborators, including Gwen Stefani, Kendrick Lamar, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Busta Rhymes and Jay-Z.
The movie, which features two new songs by Pharrell, will hit theaters on Oct. 11.
Check out PETA’s footage of the incident below.
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