Pharrell blames ‘toxic energy’ for cancellation of popular music festival

Artist Pharrell Williams is blaming “toxic energy” for the cancellation of his popular music festival in his native city of Virginia Beach, Va., The Virginian-Pilot reported.

In a letter to Virginia Beach’s city leadership on Wednesday, Williams expressed his disappointment about the city’s response to the death of his cousin Donovon Lynch, who was shot by a police officer in March. 

Williams also said the reason why he held the “Something in the Water” music festival in 2019 was to help ease racial tensions in the city. 

#BREAKING @Pharrell hints that @sitw will NOT return to @CityofVaBeach after writing to the city manager that for far too long the city has been “run by and with toxic energy.” @WAVY_News pic.twitter.com/yEjJCzQv8e

— Brett Hall (@BrettHNews) October 5, 2021

“I love my city, but for far too long it has been run by and with toxic energy,” Williams said in his letter. “The toxic energy that changed the narrative several times around the homicide of my cousin, Donovan Lynch, a citizen of Virginia, is the same toxic energy that changed the narrative around the mass murder and senseless loss of life at Building Number 2.” 

Williams, who grew up in the city’s Seatack neighborhood, added he doesn’t feel the city is valuing his own solutions for “human rights for all.” 

Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer (R) told the Virginia newspaper on Tuesday that he hopes to have a sit-down meeting with Williams about hosting the festival next year. 

According to Virginia Beach’s government, the “Something in the Water” music festival’s total economic impact was $24.11 million, the Virginia-based newspaper noted. 

“We’re hoping we can have a face-to-face meeting with Pharrell and go over his concerns and see what we can do to get things back on track,”  Dyer told The Virginian Pilot. “By meeting in person and communicating, I am confident we can move in a better direction. That would be best to build those positive bridges.”