ByJanice Gassam Asare, Ph.D.,

Senior Contributor.

Music mogul Pharrell Williams is facing backlash over statements the musician recently made on a panel. At an event to kick off the 5th Annual Black Ambition Demo Day in Miami, Williams expressed his disdain for politics, stating how he thinks it can cause division and shared his views on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Regarding politics, Williams stated, “Like, despise them. It’s a magic trick. It’s not real. I don’t believe in either side. Because I think when you pick a side, you are inadvertently supporting division. Yes, it’s not a popular point of view, but I gotta say, when I think about it, the wells are drying up.” Regarding DEI, Williams stated, “Do you want someone to support your startup because you’re Black or because you’re the best? So I think now for me, it’s about us having the best ambition, and that’s the reason why you should support these businesses. Yes, they happen to be Black and brown, but it should be based on the thesis that they’re the best, not because of a shade of skin color.” Williams’ team did not respond to a request for comment.

Williams’ statements lean into a common narrative pushed by DEI critics that DEI focuses too much on Black people and that it can lead to the hiring of unqualified and unskilled Black candidates. What DEI was originally created to do was address discrimination in order to allow people from historically excluded populations to have access to the same opportunities that have been denied to them for centuries. DEI seeks to address the varying levels of historic harm and marginalization that still exists across industries and fields today. Leveling the playing field by providing opportunities for talented individuals from communities that have been systematically excluded is what DEI was designed to do. Despite several programs and policies that were designed to address these systemic inequities within organizations and institutions, workplaces still struggle to hire, retain and support employees from underrepresented populations.