Pharrell was scheduled to perform Monday (September 21) in Cape Town, South Africa. However, over 500 people showed up outside the venue to protest the promo deal between him and South African retailer Woolworths. Woolworths is reported to have trade ties with Israel. This caused fury among the people Cape Town, they claim “By working with Woolworths, Pharrell supports Israel, a country that supports the oppression of Palestine, a country that is the new apartheid state.”
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Pharrell has teamed up with Woolworths to work on several different eco-friendly fashion endeavors for South Africa, and also scholarship programs for kids. According to a representative for the company they do not source produce from Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, and they clearly label it on their products.
The show did go on, however that didn’t stop the protestors from gathering and waving their signs that were marked with sayings from, “Pharrell is welcome if Gaza is free” to “Pharrell and Woolworths have blood on their hands.”
Source Complex
