Summary
- Pharrell Williams discovers his family's history of slavery on Finding Your Roots and has an emotional reaction.
- Fans show sympathy and support for Pharrell after learning about his ancestry.
- Scarlett Johansson also learns about her family's tragic past, including relatives who died in the Holocaust.
Pharrell Williams has enjoyed massive career success. Recently, Beyoncé and Jay-Z attended Pharrell's Louis Vuitton show. Pharrell Williams has enjoyed massive career success. With a net worth estimated to be around $250 million, the artist has clearly made his family proud.
However, as we're going to reveal in the following, Pharrell's family comes from a history of slavery. We'll take a look back at Pharrell's reaction to the disturbing reveal and what he had to say. We'll reveal how the fans reacted to Williams' time on Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
We'll close things off by taking a look at another celebrity that also found out the emotional history of her family, Scarlett Johansson.
Let's take a closer look.
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Pharrell Williams Broke Down After Finding Out About His Family's History With Slavery
It was a memorable and emotional interview for Pharrell on Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Finding out the details of your family can be an insightful experience, but at the same time, it can also bring about lots of heartbreak. That's exactly what took place for Pharrell as he found out some disturbing details, like the history of slavery his family faced.
Pharrell's 3rd great-grandfather, in particular, was born into slavery and not freed until the end of the civil war. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. reveals, "The first ten years of his life would have been spent in slavery. We tend to think as adults, but think about a little boy."
As expected, Pharrell was emotional about this fact. He said, "Wow. I don't want to cry, and I'm trying not to be angry." The host replies, "You're not a machine. This is horrendous. What else can you feel? It is horrible."
"It's intense sir. It's intense," Pharrell concludes.
The emotional episode can be rewatched below.
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With a near 7 million views on YouTube, fans had a lot to say after watching the emotional interview with Pharrell. Over 9K fans commented, showing lots of sympathy for Pharrell.
Fans Were Crushed For Pharrell During The Reveal Of His Ancestry
Finding his roots was an emotional experience for the Grammy winner, who also found out that his surname was given by their slave owners. Fans had lots of different reactions to the interview. The most liked comments read:
"You're not a machine. This was horrendous. How else would you feel?" That struck my heart. I'm so grateful for the fullness of emotion. Therein lies understanding."
"When he said, "I am trying not to be angry and I'm trying not to cry." I felt that in my soul. My sentiments exactly."
Another fan notes that the fact that Pharrell enjoying this type of success would leave his ancestry extremely proud.
"I think whats even more incredible in this story is...his family went from slaves to celebrity. If they could see him today how much they would be brought to tears from seeing their ancestory in prosperity."
"I feel that it’s important to know and understand our ancestors pain and sufferings. So we can be more appreciative and grateful for the life we now have."
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Despite the many celebrities, a fan called it the best episode of Finding Your Roots.
"Out of all the interviews in 'Finding Your Roots' this one was the most profound. Beautifully done, honest and sincere. Sending hugs to Pharrell."
Many other celebrities appeared on the show and that includes Scarlett Johansson, who was exposed to a sad reality relating to her family history.
Scarlett Johansson Also Had A Tough Experience Finding Out About Her Ancestry
Similar to Pharrell, Scarlett Johansson broke down mid-interview after finding out the real origins of her family. Johansson got some disturbing news, finding out that family members died during the Holocaust.
Scarlett said after the reveal, "Wow, that’s sad. And I promised myself I wouldn’t cry. But it’s hard not to.” Henry Louis Gates, Jr. went onto reveal that Scarlett's grandfather escaped Poland and worked as a grocer in New York. Sadly, a lot of the family stayed in Poland and ended up passing away.
“It’s crazy to imagine that Saul would be on the other side selling bananas on Ludlow Street. And how different it would be being in America at that time. The fate of one brother versus the other.” Scarlett adds, “It makes me feel more deeply connected to that side of myself, that side of my family. I didn’t expect that."
Similar to the Pharrell interview, Scarlett's time on the show is also worth a watch.
