Pharrell Williams is being sued by his former Neptunes partner Chad Hugo over allegations that the production mogul owes him up to $1 million in lost earnings from their final album as NERD, 2017's No One Ever Really Dies. The dispute centers on claims that Hugo was denied royalties and shares from touring income and merchandising, with Williams allegedly refusing to share documents that would clarify his partner's earnings.
According to Hugo's lawyers, the demands for financial disclosure were ignored or met with "limited" and "incomplete" documentation in a breach of their operating agreement. The estimated earnings due to Hugo from No One Ever Really Dies could exceed $750,000-$1 million. Hugo's team claims that Williams engaged in a "systematic denial" of his partner's rights, alleging self-dealing, concealed material information, and diverted revenues owed to him.
In response, a representative for Williams stated that a standard accounting review was underway and described the lawsuit as premature, suggesting there may not be a dispute between the parties. The representative also asserted that Williams has acted in good faith and looks forward to resolving the matter with his former partner. This is the second lawsuit filed by Hugo against Williams; he previously accused him of "fraudulently" attempting to control the Neptunes name, which is still the subject of a federal trademark tribunal.
The dispute highlights long-standing tensions between the two former partners, who have been at odds over creative and financial disputes for years. Kelis, another artist who has worked with the Neptunes, previously accused the production team of lying to her about royalties from her debut album, Kaleidoscope. Beyoncé removed an interpolation of Kelis's song Milkshake from her Renaissance album track Energy after Kelis called it an act of "thievery".
According to Hugo's lawyers, the demands for financial disclosure were ignored or met with "limited" and "incomplete" documentation in a breach of their operating agreement. The estimated earnings due to Hugo from No One Ever Really Dies could exceed $750,000-$1 million. Hugo's team claims that Williams engaged in a "systematic denial" of his partner's rights, alleging self-dealing, concealed material information, and diverted revenues owed to him.
In response, a representative for Williams stated that a standard accounting review was underway and described the lawsuit as premature, suggesting there may not be a dispute between the parties. The representative also asserted that Williams has acted in good faith and looks forward to resolving the matter with his former partner. This is the second lawsuit filed by Hugo against Williams; he previously accused him of "fraudulently" attempting to control the Neptunes name, which is still the subject of a federal trademark tribunal.
The dispute highlights long-standing tensions between the two former partners, who have been at odds over creative and financial disputes for years. Kelis, another artist who has worked with the Neptunes, previously accused the production team of lying to her about royalties from her debut album, Kaleidoscope. Beyoncé removed an interpolation of Kelis's song Milkshake from her Renaissance album track Energy after Kelis called it an act of "thievery".
. I mean, who designs something like that? But anyway, back to Pharrell and Chad's drama... I feel like this is just another example of celebrities being, well, super rich and having lawyers to deal with all their problems 
. Like, can't they just have a casual meet up and sort it out themselves? I'm not saying it's that simple, but still... $1 million is a lot of money! Maybe they should just get a neutral third party to help them work things out like a mediator or something 
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! Like, I get it, partnerships can be messy, but $1 million? That's a lot of dough 
. And the thing that's really got me questioning Pharrell's actions is if he was indeed in good faith and now his ex-partner is suing him over unpaid royalties 
. I mean, what's going on here? Did they not have an agreement in place for this kind of situation? It seems like a pretty standard operating procedure to have some sort of financial disclosure or accounting review when you're leaving a partnership 
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. It's wild to think about how much could've been resolved with just some good communication and transparency - I mean, who doesn't love a good business deal? 
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. I mean, Kelis already called them out on lying about royalties, so I'm not surprised this is happening again... and now Chad's suing Pharrell over touring income and merch? That's some next level drama 
. And what even is going on with the Neptunes name? Is that even worth fighting over? 
oh no, sounds like Pharrell and Chad have been having major beef for years 
. Pharrell should definitely be looking into this accounting review ASAP 
and maybe even consider mediation or something to avoid prolonging the drama 
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, but at the same time, I think this is all coming to light now because Pharrell is a big name and people want to know what's going on behind the scenes. It's crazy how much money is involved - $750k to $1m! 
. Fingers crossed both parties can work it out! 
. i feel bad for chad hugo though, he's been speaking out about these issues for years and now he's finally getting some justice. but at the same time, pharrell williams has built an empire with his talent & hard work, you can't just give away all your earnings to someone, no matter how much of a partnership it was 
. Pharrell and Chad have been having beefs like this for ages, but now the numbers are getting crazy 
I mean, I'm not defending either guy or anything but... 
where are the documents that prove all this financial drama? Where's the accounting review proof?