Pharrell Williams recalls being kicked out of McDonald’s three times: ‘I ate chicken nuggets’

Pharrell Williams has experienced stratospheric success in his profession. The 13-time Grammy Award-winning artist, who currently heads Louis Vuitton menswear, is the epitome of ambiguity. However, he was not all the time so prolific.

Long before his former production duo, The Neptunes, and the band NERD were topping the charts, Williams was just one other worker who was fired from McDonald’s. Three different times, to be precise.

“McDonald’s was my first and only job,” the Virginia native said BBC2 Radio during a recent interview. “I used to be fired three times. I ate chicken nuggets.

To be clear, consuming the product at work only resulted in a single of the three being fired.

“The first two times I only did it because I was lazy,” he admitted. “The third one was like, ‘What are you doing? Are you sitting there eating nuggets?”

Fortunately for him, success with The Neptunes, which he founded with childhood friend Chad Hugo in 1992, was just across the corner. After Williams hung up his apron for good, he formed NERD in 1999 with Hugo and drummer Shay Haley.

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For the subsequent decade, Williams ruled the music scene with self-produced hits including Clipse’s “Grindin’,” Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” Nelly’s “It’s Getting Hot in Herre” and Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl.” Throughout all of it, NERD has gained a dedicated fandom of its own with party-ready hits like “Lapdance,” “She Wants to Move,” and the aptly named “Rock Star.” As a solo artist, the “Happy” artist continues to be a success maker.

In “Piece By Piece,” now showing in theaters, LEGO bricks illustrate Williams’ life story from childhood to his successful music profession.

The polymath also bore fruit in his personal life. Although he is basically a personal person, the husband and father of 4 has made several public appearances together with his family. After welcoming his son Rocket in 2008 with Helen Lasichanh, the couple tied the knot in 2013. In 2017, the family welcomed triplets.

With his latest disclosure, Williams can officially join the list of “hugely successful people who have been fired before.” He’s in good company; the list includes Tyler’s collaborators, The Creator, SZA, Oprah Winfrey and more.