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Pharrell Williams Reflects on Getting Fired from McDonald’s (Three Times) for Eating Chicken Nuggets
Nov
Pharrell Williams, known worldwide for hits like “Happy” and his impressive producing portfolio, recently took a trip down memory lane to recall his short-lived attempts at working in fast food. In a BBC interview, Pharrell shared that his first job at McDonald’s didn’t go quite as planned — and he was actually fired three separate times. The reason? His love for chicken nuggets.
“McDonald’s, my first and only job — got fired three times,” Pharrell admitted. “I was eating the chicken nuggets.” While his first two firings were chalked up to “laziness,” it was his third stint that sealed the deal. “The third time, it was just kind of like, ‘Dude, what are you doing? Why are you just sitting there eating nuggets?’”
Pharrell explained that he found McDonald’s sweet and sour sauce irresistible, calling it an “alchemical combination” with the chicken nuggets. “I was one of those kids, I just liked flavors. So I would have sweet and sour on one, and on the other one I would have ranch. And I’d just go back and forth,” he said, humorously reminiscing about his unconventional snacking habits on the job.
Ironically, Pharrell’s relationship with McDonald’s didn’t end there. Despite his multiple firings, he later collaborated with the fast-food giant on a jingle. In the early 2000s, he co-wrote Justin Timberlake’s single “I’m Lovin’ It,” which featured the now-iconic five-note “ba da ba ba ba” jingle. Pharrell clarified in a recent Hot Ones interview that he wasn’t involved in creating the jingle itself but was brought in to expand it into a full song. “I think people think that I was like, ‘Wait a second, hold on, it’s going to be three das…’ That’s not what happened,” he explained. “They brought that to us and asked us to make a song out of it.”
The I’m Lovin’ It jingle has since become synonymous with McDonald’s branding, but Pharrell’s contributions to it are a small part of his larger music career. Interestingly, rapper Pusha T, who has collaborated with Pharrell for years, claimed credit for the jingle in 2016, although ad executive Tom Batoy has disputed this.
Even with his unconventional McDonald’s history, Pharrell’s career has flourished. Now, the Grammy winner’s story continues to inspire, with animated documentaries like Piece by Piece delving into his creative journey. For Pharrell, the “golden arches” of McDonald’s may have been a rocky start, but it ultimately became part of his remarkable story in the music industry.
