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Viewers of last nights Graham Norton Show found themselves aggrieved by one A-List musicians fashion choices as Pharrell Williams sat down for a chat.
Swinging by the studio along with Billy Crystal and Paddington in Peru stars Emily Mortimer and Hugh Bonneville, Pharrell joined a star-studded line-up on Grahams sofa.
The Grammy award-winning musician, 51, was in town to promote his new biopic, Piece By Piece.
The animated film tells the story of Pharrells rise to fame in Lego form, including the production of his hit 2014 song Smile.
During his chat with Graham, Pharrell opened up about his experiences with synesthesia “ a perceptual condition which allows him to see different sounds as colours.
However, the star alienated some viewers by donning a baseball cap and a pair of sunglasses during his appearance.
Taking to social media as the episode aired, fans shared their frustration at the stars perceived faux-paus.
Why is Pharrell wearing sunglasses on #GrahamNortonShow. I know hes cool but please..! wrote X user MichZiff.
Sunglasses “ just rude. (Unless he has some medical reason), agreed robstowers.
Why is he wearing sunglasses? Incredibly bad manners, asked captmagenta.
Why is pharrell williams wearing sunglasses on graham norton¦¦youre embarrassing me in front of billy crystal, despaired kimwexlcrs.
As the star went on to introduce his new movie, Graham quizzed him over the medical condition synesthesia, which is explained in a clip from the film.
In a clip from Piece By Piece, Pharrells narration described what it was like to experience synesthesia as a child.
Its not something that you see with your physical eyes. Its something that you see in your minds eye, the star explained.
To illustrate, Pharrells Lego brick avatar could be seen entering a vibrant vortex of colours, as sound and music joined as one.
This is the way you respond to senses, or your senses work slightly differently? Graham asked, back in the studio.
Precisely, Pharrell clarified. So the most popular one is sound to colour. But theres all types of synesthesia out there in the world. So basically what synesthesia is, its like when we are all born, as like newborns, all of our nerve endings for the senses, theyre basically together.
And when you turn one, they prune. And sometimes, they dont prune all the way. So its kind of like a defect, where two of the nerve endings will stay together.
He continued: For me it was sight and sound. So basically each nerve ending would send ghost images to different parts of your brain. So when Im hearing sound, Im also seeing colour.
This is not some Albert Einstein savant thing, OK. This is something that happens with a lot of artists, and especially a lot of musicians. It happens all the time, he added.
While the Get Lucky hitmaker hasnt said whether or his choice of accessory is in any way related to the condition, those who do have synesthesia have been known to experience sensory overload “ which can be managed by tinted glasses in some cases.
According to Boston University, one in every 5,000 people are affected by the condition “ other types of which include being able to taste certain words, or see colours for different days of the week.
The stylish star “ who also runs his own fashion line, named Icecream “ is known for his affinity for sunglasses, having even collaborated on his own design with Louis Vitton, so the decision could have been one made purely for style.
He joins a long line of US stars who have showed up to interviews wearing sunglasses; including Zac Efron on The Today Show, and Kevin Hart on the Late Show.
During his time on Grahams sofa, Pharrell went on to explain how most CEOs and successful businesspeople do so with some form of ADD or ADHD.
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So theres something to be said for people who were born different. I think that which makes you different is what makes you special, and thats what this film is about.
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