Pharrell Williams premiere in London disrupted by animal rights protesters

The premiere of a new film about Pharrell Williams was briefly disrupted by animal rights protesters at the London Film Festival on Sunday.

A screening of Piece By Piece, a biopic of the musician told using Lego, closed the festival, but was delayed after campaigners shouted and hung banners over the balcony in the Royal Festival Hall.

They shouted “stop the torture, stop the pain”, in reference to the use of animal skins and fur by fashion house Louis Vuitton, where Williams serves as men’s creative director.

The singer and producer, who was on stage at the time, remained calm and applauded the activists, telling them: “God bless you.”

Addressing the rest of the audience as the protesters were being removed, he added: “The changes they seek don’t happen overnight, it takes a lot of planning, and we are working on those things.

“But they want to be heard, so we heard them.”

Williams has been creative director of the Louis Vuitton men’s collection since February 2023.

BBC News has asked Louis Vuitton for comment.

This is the second major screening of the singer’s biopic to be disrupted, after animal rights groups also targeted the movie’s premiere at the Toronto Film Festival last month.

After the London screening, animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) claimed responsibility.

They said: “We are calling him out for using wild-animal skins and fur in his Louis Vuitton designs. It’s time for him to stop supporting cruelty!”

At the previous screening in Toronto, a woman ran on stage and shouted: “Pharrell, stop supporting killing animals for fashion.”

The singer replied: “You know what? You’re right. God bless you. It’s OK. Everybody give her a round of applause please.”

Once she was removed, Williams told the audience: “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.”

Williams is known for hits such as Happy and for being one half of production duo the Neptunes, who worked on some of the biggest hits of the last two decades.

Piece by Piece, directed by Morgan Neville, uses Lego bricks to depict Williams’s early life in Virginia through to his rise to fame.

The film, released in the UK next month, has received generally positive reviews from critics, with many praising the “inventive” take on the traditional biopic.