Pharrell Williams' contentious 'Blurred Lines' taped deposition: 'I'm not here to teach you music'

Newly released video shows Pharrell Williams' taped deposition in the 'Blurred Lines' lawsuit...

Oct 26, 2015

In March, a federal jury found Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke liable for copying elements of Marvin Gaye’s 1977 hit, “Got to Give it Up,” to create the 2013 smash hit “Blurred Lines.”

As the case currently heads toward an appeal following the $7.3 million judgement, The Hollywood Reporter has obtained video of the Williams and Thicke depositions.

In the video, Williams is asked which chords are used in bluegrass songs. He replied, “You should check it out” and “I’m not a teacher.”

Busch, the lead attorney for the Gaye estate, continued to probe him on his knowledge of chords and music structure, to which Williams replied, “I’m not here to teach you music.” The singer admitted that he is able to read a musical notation but is unable to write one. When asked to name two musical notes and their duration, he replied, “I’m not comfortable with this” and “I can’t answer you at this time.”

The testimony continues for some time, and Williams becomes noticeably annoyed and comes back with several combative answers.

“I did not go in the studio with the intention of making anything feel like, or to sound like, Marvin Gaye,” Williams said.

The attorney followed up by asking, “When you were creating ‘Blurred Lines,’ were you trying to pretend that you were Marvin Gaye?”

Williams replied: “At that particular time, no. But as I look back, I feel that feeling.”