PHARRELL Williams has pulled his popular Something in the Water festival in Virginia Beach after a police officer fatally shot his cousin there earlier this year.
City leaders had appealed to Williams to restore the festival in 2022 but Williams criticized the city in a letter this week.
The Grammy-winning producer, who is originally from the coastal city in south-eastern Virginia, wrote: “When we did the festival, it was to ease racial tension, to unify the region, bring about economic development opportunities … I love my city, but for far too long it has been run by – and – with toxic energy.”
In March, a Virginia Beach police officer fatally shot Pharrell’s 25-year-old cousin Donovan Lynch, along with Deshayla Harris, 29, and injured eight others. The two officers who were present at the scene did not have their body cameras turned on.
Lynch’s father filed a $50m wrongful death
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