Pharrell Williams Reveals Why He Got Fired From McDonald's Three Times

Before he became one of the most influential figures in music, Pharrell Williams was just a teenager working at McDonald’s. But unlike many who climb the corporate ranks, the Grammy-winning artist's time at the fast-food chain was short-lived—and not by choice.

In a recent interview, Pharrell Williams opened up about why he was fired not once, but three times from McDonald’s.

The "Freedom" musician didn’t hold back when recounting his brief tenure at the Golden Arches, hinting that his enthusiasm may not have quite aligned with the fast-paced demands of the job.

Reflecting on his younger self, Pharrell chuckled, noting he was “lazy” and "just sitting there eating nuggets."

“McDonald’s was my first and only job,” he told BBC Radio 2. “I got fired three times. I was eating the chicken nuggets.”

“The first two times it was just because I was lazy,” he further explained. “The third was like, ‘What are you doing? You’re just sitting there eating nuggets?'”

Since those days flipping burgers and getting fired from McDonald’s, Pharrell has become a household name, producing iconic hits like Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl,” Nelly’s “Hot in Herre,” and Justin Timberlake’s “Rock Your Body.”

In addition, his hit song "Happy" has become one of the best-selling tracks of all time, with over 13.9 million copies sold.

According to Forbes and CNN, the single was also declared the most-played song on British radio in the 2010s and once held the record for the longest music video, clocking in at 24 hours. This record stood until Twenty One Pilots surpassed it in 2020 with a 177-day-long video.

"When I was about 40, that's when 'Get Lucky,' 'Blurred Lines,' 'Happy,' all of that was the same year," the artist recalled in an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music 1. "And these were all songs that were more commissions than they were just like, I woke up one day and decided I'm going to write about X, Y and Z."

Pharrell initially wrote "Happy" for CeeLo Green, who recorded it, but his label ultimately rejected the track. However, the studio behind "Despicable Me 2" loved Pharrell’s demo so much that they decided to use his version for the film instead.

“When that record exploded, it was like, ‘OK, I didn’t wake up one day deciding that I wanted to make a song about an emotion. It was conditioned," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "At that point, I’m crying, because I’m like, ‘OK, God, what’s going on?’ Because my reality was always, ‘I wrote this song. I produced this song. I sold this many records. I sold this. I sold that.’ It was me, me, me, me. Those three No. 1 songs [written for and in collaboration with others] enlightened me that it’s so many other factors."

For years, Pharrell’s agent encouraged him to make a documentary, but he admits he was reluctant to center a project around himself because, as he put it, “I am too much of a perfectionist and I’m too opinionated.”

However, when he learned he could approach it in any creative way he envisioned, his mind went straight to Lego.

“I’m humble now, but it tells you the story of how I became humble,” he said of the film, which was released last month. “And what I love about it is, from 8 to 80, it’s never too late for you to think about your dreams and build them piece by piece. It’s never too late for you to go pick up a Lego set and make things and be a co-creator. It’s never too late to wake up to that. It’s never too late to gain that self-awareness. This is my dream, for people to have that.”

The film features some of Pharrell’s closest collaborators, with big names like Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Missy Elliott, Justin Timberlake, Gwen Stefani, Timbaland, and Busta Rhymes lending their voices to their animated characters. Pharrell himself joins the cast and has also composed five original songs for the project.

"Piece by Piece" adds another chapter to Pharrell’s growing filmography. His work as a producer for 2016’s "Hidden Figures" earned him a Best Picture Oscar nomination, and he composed music for the film as well. Pharrell’s other movie credits include producing music for the "Despicable Me" franchise and 2014’s "The Amazing Spider-Man 2."