About 500 people demonstrated outside a Cape Town venue where Pharrell Williams was set to perform on Monday (Sept 21), in protest against his promotional deal with South African retailer Woolworths and its trade ties with Israel.
The protest was launched by the South African branch of the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel (BDS) movement.
“By working with Woolworths, Pharrell supports Israel, a country that supports the oppression of Palestine, a country that is the new apartheid state,” a protester told reporters.
Pharrell is collaborating with Woolworths as its style director on several fashion projects as well as fundraising for education.
Woolworths has said it does not source produce from the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, less than 0.1 percent of its food comes from Israel and that it clearly labels every product’s country of origin.
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