Robin Thicke has tried to defend the terrible song that was ‘Blurred Lines’, saying that all the song was meant to do was get people dancing.
Inescapable for a while in 2013, ‘Blurred Lines’ was controversial from almost the moment of its release. Its lyrics and video were condemned for perpetuating ideas of sexism, chauvinism, and misogyny. Just a real bad time.
It might only be eight years old but to watch the video back is like viewing a portal into a different world. Thicke – looking like a third-rate Michael Bublé impersonator – and his co-conspirators Pharrell and T.I. stand in full suits, leering at several scantily-clad women parading around them. It’s telling that one of the models from the video, Emily Ratajkowski, has recently spoken out about abuse and misogyny within the entertainment industry.
If that wasn’t enough, the song was also involved in a huge lawsuit from the estate of the legendary Marvin Gaye, which successfully sued for copyright infringement in 2015 due to similarities between ‘Blurred Line’s and Gaye’s 1977 song “Got To Give It Up’. Gaye was given a posthumous writing credit and Thicke and Pharrell were ordered to pay $5 million to Gaye’s estate in 2018.
Now though, as per NME, Thicke has attempted to defend the song during an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music.
“Well, really, I never saw it that way when I sang it or performed it,” he said. “Usually, the first piece, when it goes, ‘Bum, bum, bum, everybody get up,’ the crowd goes crazy.”
“You just kind of take it with a grain of salt,” the singer continued. “The reason I started all of this is because I love music, I love to make music, and then, once I started to perform, I love to perform, so I just go for that part of it. We’re just jamming, everybody is meant to get up and dance. That’s all the song is meant to do.”
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Back in October 2019, Pharrell was the first to publicly disown ‘Blurred Lines’ in an interview, saying that his “mind (had) opened up to what was actually being said in the song and how it could make someone feel”. Wise move Pharrell.