April 13, 2014
Excerpt from Pharrell’s Upcoming Chat With Oprah About Fatherhood and Married Life
After standing up for same-sex marriage and pro-choice on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, seven-time Grammy winner Pharrell Williams meets up with Oprah Winfrey.
In an all-new episode of “Oprah Prime†airing this Sunday, April 13 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on OWN, Williams discusses standing in the shadow of other celebrity artists and his rise to fame.
Williams recently appeared on Ellen to promote his current album G.I.R.L. and expressed that women deserve more respect for their role in society. He explained shock that female employees still get paid less than their male equivalents.
“There is a lot of inequality with women and you know how that goes. Everything from, you know… still to this day, what is it, 73 cents to a man’s dollar? Like, what is that? The last I heard, this whole entire species can only come into existence through the portal in a woman’s body,” Williams said on the show.
The infamous Vivienne Westwood hat toting entertainer added that he believes equality should extend to “everybody” regardless of their sexuality or beliefs.
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“And when I say equality – you may be surprised – I mean equality for everybody. Like, who are you telling who they can marry and who they can’t. What is this? This is 2014,” he said.
On the upcoming episode on Oprah Prime, the 41-year-old music superstar, who is married to model Helen Lasichanh, will also discuss family and fatherhood.
Williams is one of the most innovative and sought-after artists in music today. On the heels of his chart topping #1 hit “Happy,†which also received an Oscar nomination for “Despicable Me 2,†will also discuss with Winfrey his writing process and how his creative vision has propelled him to music superstardom.
EXCERPT: Pharrell Talks About The Meaning Behind His Son’s Name
OPRAH: Why did you name him Rocket?
PHARRELL: Because we — in the same way that the Indians name their children like behind a force or an animal or an element, we named him after a manmade machine that was meant to go up. Meant to ascend. And metaphorically, it was because of, you know, Stevie Wonder’s “Rocket Love,†Elton John’s “Rocket Man†and Herbie Hancock’s “Rocket.†All of my favorite musicians. And his middle name is not Man. t’s Ayer after Roy Ayers.
OPRAH: But if you’re named Rocket Ayer you’re definitely a kid who’s born to soar.
PHARRELL: Yeah.
OPRAH: Yeah.
PHARRELL: And we wanted that.