Raised in Virginia Beach, Pusha T befriended The Neptunes even before they became famous. On Monday, Pusha T took to Instagram to express his opinion that the legal battle between Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo over the Neptunes name rights was “stupidity.”
In Pusha’s view, Hugo and his lawyer Kenneth D. Freundlich originally filed the lawsuit against The Neptunes after Williams “fraudulently” attempted to trademark the Neptunes’ name without Hugo’s permission. On social media, Pusha claims to the legal issue is simply cash grab by Hugo’s attorney.
“@KingPush said best,” Pusha T wrote in a Instagram Story. “This is foolish. It’s akin’ to when Ralph & Johnny brought the rights to the name ‘NEW EDITION.’ Not for the purposes of greed but to keep it out of someone’s hands. If it was all so bad then why did he not sue for ‘N.E.R.D.’ too????”
He continued in the comments with, “There’s not a dollar involved in this stupidity. Just a lawyer looking to drain Chad’s pockets. Unreal.”
Pharrell filed trademarks of The Neptunes name rights in 2022. In court, it is being argued that the duo who made classics such as “Grindn’,” “Nothin’,” and “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” agreed to split everything regarding The Neptunes equally, and Pharrell acquiring the name rights violates the agreement.
Hugo’s attorney issued a statement to Billboard. It reads:
“Throughout their over thirty-year history, [Hugo] and Williams agreed to, and in fact, have divided all assets.
“By ignoring and excluding [Hugo] from the any and all applications filed by applicant for the mark ‘The Neptunes,’ applicant has committed fraud in securing the trademarks and acted in bad faith.”
Pharrell’s representatives would refute Hugo’s claim with the following statement:
Pharrell is surprised by this. We have reached out on multiple occasions to share in the ownership and administration of the trademark and will continue to make that offer. The goal here was to make sure a third party doesn’t get a hold of the trademark and to guarantee Chad and Pharrell share in ownership and administration.”
Hugo’s lawyer responded to Pharrell’s denial, “If Pharrell’s intent was to include Chad in the filing, he should have registered it in the name of them jointly or as a partnership and not in his own name,” he said. “This was a land grab in a long-simmering dispute that has yet to be resolved.”As The Neptunes and N.E.R.D., Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo have released six albums. Their catalog includes hit songs “She Wants To Move,” “Lapdance,” and “Everyone Nose.” The duo was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2022.