Veteran journalist Roland Martin has gone off on Pharrell Williams for dismissing politics as “a magic trick” that “causes division,” calling the producer’s feedback “some of the dumbest I ever heard.”

Pharrell made the controversial assertion throughout his fifth annual Black Ambition Demo Day in Miami, the place he additionally obtained a ceremonial key to Miami-Dade County. The occasion, designed to empower Black entrepreneurs, turned a flashpoint when the Virginia native informed the group he hates politics, suggesting that selecting sides solely divides folks.

Martin, host of Roland Martin Unfiltered, wasn’t having it. In a fiery phase, he spent almost quarter-hour dismantling Pharrell’s remarks, mentioning that politics performs a direct position in every little thing from Grammy Awards to wrongful loss of life settlements.

“What Pharrell just said there is really some of the dumbest I ever heard,” Martin started. “Pharrell said, ‘I hate politics. It’s a magic trick. It’s not real. When you pick a side, you pick division.’ Okay, Pharrell, when somebody’s running for office, somebody’s going to win. If you vote, you got to pick.”

Martin drew an analogy between the voting course of and Pharrell’s personal Grammy wins. “You got 13 Grammys, which means you were nominated a number of times. That means people voted. In politics, that’s the same thing. A committee—called voters—assessed the work and decided who should win. That’s politics.”

He went on to focus on how political selections immediately affected Pharrell’s personal life. “Your cousin Donovan Lynch was shot and killed in Virginia Beach. The city settled the lawsuit for $3 million. That’s called politics. Elected leaders had to approve that settlement.”

Martin accused Pharrell of ignoring the realities that form his personal profession. “You cannot hold a music festival unless you get permits, unless you follow city law. Who do you think sets those rules? That’s politics,” he stated, referring to Pharrell’s Something within the Water competition in Virginia Beach.

He additionally referred to as out Pharrell’s feedback on meritocracy and race. “You said, ‘What are we going to do? You didn’t get a job because you’re Black.’ What are you talking about? That’s that MAGA nonsense,” Martin snapped. “Black folks have been highly qualified for centuries and were overlooked by people. Politics made it possible for you to even sit there and have that event.”

The media persona capped off his critique by calling Pharrell’s assertion “irrational,” particularly given the setting. “You accepted a key to Miami-Dade County at your Black Ambition event, and you said politics isn’t real. That key was approved through politics,” he stated. “How do you not see that?”

Martin ended by urging influential figures like Pharrell to suppose earlier than talking on public platforms. “If you are an entertainer and you have a mic, can you please read, watch, listen, talk to somebody before you say some dumb on the microphone?”

The viral takedown has reignited a longstanding debate inside Black tradition in regards to the steadiness between inventive freedom and political duty. As Martin made clear, for him, silence or neutrality within the face of systemic energy isn’t enlightenment—it’s denial.

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