Pharrell: No Blurred Lines in lyric

Pharrell Williams has defended the lyrics in Blurred Lines

Pharrell Williams has defended the lyrics in last year's hit song Blurred Lines following criticism that it was sexually aggressive.

The singer collaborated with Robin Thicke and TI on the track where he sang the line, 'I know you want it,' as scantily dressed women paraded around the musicians.

Interviewed by Krishnan Guru-Murthy for Channel 4 News, the star said: "What does the line suggest, 'I know you want it?' Is it sexually suggestive when a car salesman says to a person who buys a car, 'I know you want it?'"

When Krishnan pointed out it usually had a sexual context, Pharrell protested: "Does that make it off limits for me to use it in a song, especially when the overarching context is that there are good women who also have bad thoughts?

"If a good woman can have sexual thoughts, is it wrong for a man to have a correct guess that a woman might want something?"

Talking about the half-naked dancers in the song's video, he said: "Did I touch them sexually? So in a high fashion magazine where women have their boobs out, is there something sexual there too?

"If you ask the director who was a female who wrote it, she was inspired by editorials by high fashion magazines where women do have their boobs out."

Pharrell also said in the interview that he would like to see a woman as US president, adding: "Historically, this world has been run by men. What would a world be like if 75% of our world leaders and presidents and prime ministers were female? We don't know because we haven't given it a shot.

"We're too busy telling them what they can and can't do with their bodies, or we're too busy not allowing them to make the same amount of money that a man makes."

He went on: "I'm just like producer dude, likes to make music, I love women and when given the opportunity to make my album, that was one of the things that I wanted to touch upon. So that's what I'm touching upon.

"I'm not trying to run for office, I'm not trying to be Mr Activist guy, I've been asked am I a feminist - I don't think it's possible for me to be that. I'm a man. It makes sense up to a certain point, but I do support feminism, I do think there are injustices and inequalities that need to be addressed."