Pharrell responds to critics of his 'GIRL' album cover

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Pharrell Williams’ highly anticipated solo album GIRL hits stores on Tuesday March 3rd, and it has already sparked some controversy.

When the “Get Lucky” singer unveiled the cover art earlier this week, in which he appears alongside three beautiful models in sunglasses, he was criticized for not featuring an African-American woman among them.

However, in a recent interview with gossip site YBF, Pharrell cleared the air.

“They’re ill-informed. The woman I’m standing closest to, she is black and she’s been a friend of mine for a long time. You know, I’m confused by it,” he said. “Then they’re going to ask me ‘do I not have an Indian woman on there or a Pakistani woman on there?’ But meanwhile, I do. She is African-American and I feel sorry for her that people will look her dead in her face like ‘she ain’t black,’ but she is black. It’s a girl I use[d] to date years ago.”

Pharrell added: “It’s just unfortunate because it’s 2014 and we have a [p]resident [who’s black]. Is this what it is? Is it because she’s not brown? I don’t feel funny about our president because he is what he is. Meanwhile, has anybody forgotten that I’m black myself? I wake up everyday and I wave the black flag. Everything that I’m doing. You know, this “Happy” song going #1. What is the guy that’s singing the song? What do you mean?”

“I’m standing by a black woman. My business is run by a black woman. My mom partially looks after my business and she’s a black woman. I’m married to a black woman. I’m confused. I guess once you get the album you will look inside and see she’s a black woman. I’m sorry that from that vantage point you can’t look at her hair and tell that she’s black.”