Pharrell Williams remembers being fired from McDonald's Three Times

Pharrell Williams may be a music mogul today, but his first job at McDonald's wasn't exactly a smash hit.

Reflecting on his early years, the 51-year-old — now a Grammy-winning artist and fashion entrepreneur worth an estimated $250 million — recalled how his love of McNuggets got him into trouble during his tenure at the fast food joint.

“McDonald's was my first and only job,” he said BBC Radio 2. “I was fired three times. I ate the chicken nuggets.”

Pharrell admitted his McDonald's career was short-lived. “The first couple of times it was just because I was lazy,” he explained. “The third one was like, 'What are you doing?' Do you just sit there and eat nuggets?'

While his time in fast food quickly ended, Pharrell achieved monumental success on the Billboard charts, launching his music career in the music production duo The Neptunes with Chad Hugo in 1992. In 1999, Pharrell, along with Chad Hugo and drummer Shay Haley, formed the band NERD

As one of the defining artists of the 2000s, Pharrell has topped the Billboard Hot 100 four times, including a remarkable run with his single “Happy,” which held the No. 1 spot for 10 consecutive weeks in 2014 .

Despite its early struggles at McDonald's, “Happy” showed Pharrell's ability to create a hit, topping Billboard's digital song sales chart with 402,000 downloads in one week. It also marked his first No. 1 as a lead artist—a milestone that took 12 years and one week since his debut, setting a record for the longest wait for a Hot 100 No. 1 as a lead artist.

Pharrell's talent for creating hits extends beyond his solo work. In 2013, he made Billboard history by simultaneously holding the No. 1 and No. 2 spots with Daft Punk's “Blurred Lines” and “Get Lucky,” making him only the 12th artist to accomplish the feat.

His work on these chart toppers enhanced his reputation, earning him the title of Billboard's 'Producer of the Decade' in 2010. His illustrious career spanned 1,544 weeks on 68 different Billboard charts.

Beyond music, Pharrell's influence has reached into fashion with his billionaire labels Boys Club and Ice Cream, and in 2023 he was appointed men's creative director for Louis Vuitton.