Pharrell Williams has been quite busy for the past year with new Clipse music, as well as his Louis Vuitton fashion ventures. But his 2026 just took a wild turn as he faces a new lawsuit from Chad Hugo, his partner in The Neptunes and his colleague alongside Shay Haley in the band N.E.R.D.
According to Complex, Hugo's accusing Williams of financial impropriety, specifically unpaid royalties and failing to properly account for their company's funds. The Friday (January 23) filing in federal California court claims Skateboard P owes the producer at least $375K and potentially over $1 million for N.E.R.D.'s 2017 No One Ever Really Dies album alone.
Not only that, but Hugo claims Pharrell owes him royalty money for most of The Neptunes and N.E.R.D.'s catalog sales, along with touring revenue and merchandising partnerships. He alleges that "a significant number of songs are missing from [Hugo's] label portals and SoundExchange portals indicating that Plaintiff has not received the royalties he is entitled to."
In addition, Chad Hugo claims Williams failed to provide the right accounting concerning their N.E.R.D. Music, LLC company formed in 2014, as P allegedly had the sole responsibility of informing about income and expenses, royalties, and other financial matters. The company's terms provide Pharrell with a 50 percent haul from "touring and other income" (with Hugo and Haley getting a quarter each), and divide "merchandising and trademark income" equally among all three members.
How Did Pharrell Williams & Chad Hugo Meet?
Finally, Hugo claims he is the "principal composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist, and producer responsible for programming, instrumentation, and overall sound design" in The Neptunes, while Williams "more frequently appeared as the public-facing member of the duo. He alleges that he's been seeking their company's financial records since 2021 to no significant avail. The filing claims this alleged behavior from Pharrell is "willful, fraudulent, and malicious... engaged in self-dealing, concealed material information, and… diverted revenues owed to [Chad Hugo]."
Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo met in Virginia Beach in the late 1980s, and the early '90s saw the formation of The Neptunes. Despite their many hits together, Pharrell and Chad have been in conflict, and this lawsuit alleging a company cut-out and unpaid royalties is the latest chapter.
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