And Finally Artist News Beef Of The Week

CMU Beef Of The Week #213: Twitter v Robin Thicke

By Andy Malt | Published on Friday 4 July 2014

Did you see the PR disaster on Twitter this week? Oh, everyone was talking about it. A right disaster, it was. It turns out that, despite ‘Blurred Lines’ being the most popular song of 2013, some people don’t think it – or its singer Robin Thicke – are all that great.

Of course, this isn’t news to anyone, really. The lyrical content of ‘Blurred Lines’ was subject to much criticism, and was banned in several British student unions entirely, on the grounds that its lyrics seemed, at best, like a celebration of rape. But Thicke always maintained that the song was about his wife, Paula Patton. Because that, apparently, was supposed to make it better. Then his wife left him, and suddenly he was forced to change tack.

This week, Thicke released his new album, ‘Paula’, a fourteen track attempt to win his wife back. It features songs such as ‘You’re My Fantasy’, ‘Still Madly Crazy’, and the single, ‘Get Her Back’. So far, it’s not worked, and Patton remains estranged. And now Thicke can’t really give winning her back his full attention, because he’s got this bloody album to promote. One of the things he did to promote it this week was a Q&A session via VH1’s Twitter feed.

“Have a burning question for @robinthicke? Submit your ?s for tomorrow’s Twitter Q+A using #AskThicke!”, came the call on Monday.

And then Twitter went a bit nuts. We witnessed the classic three stages of a hashtag hijack.

1. People tweeting that this hashtag was a bad idea
2. People tweeting angry responses to the hashtag
3. People tweeting ridiculous responses to the hashtag

Classic. And the tweets came in their droves. Some were poignant, some were funny, some, you could even argue, were important. Certainly, people took notice. It seemed that every media outlet with any sort of online presence was creating an article collating the best responses and proclaiming the whole thing to be a ‘disaster’ for Thicke and his team.

I think calling it a disaster was always going to be a bit of an overstatement, but it really was everywhere. Surely it would cause Thicke to finally properly face up to the very real, very serious criticism of the lyrics in ‘Blurred Lines’, which to date he has either ignored or rejected.

Of course, this wasn’t a live Q&A – VH1 was gathering the pick of the questions to ask, and wasn’t going to start firing the harshest criticism at its guest. In fact, none of the questions posed by hashtag hijackers made the cut (SURPRISE!). But VH1, to its credit, did submit its own question to start proceedings, which at least acknowledged that there was something he should probably address.

“There has been a lot of controversy around your song ‘Blurred Lines’ and new album, ‘Paula'”, tweeted VH1 Music. “How do you respond?”

OK, great. That’s done. He can’t ignore that. He has to say something. He has to.

“What controversy?” Thicke responded, adding: “Hahaha”.

Oh. That opportunity wasted, the rest of the Q&A discussed things like Thicke’s influences, his favourite song on the new album, his writing process, and his hopes for getting back together with his wife. It was pretty much like, I don’t know, a social-media-based artist/fan Q&A or something. A bit boring. It wasn’t, despite Twitter’s best efforts, thousands of people backing Robin Thicke into a corner and making him explain himself.

But it could have been. And it still can be. Because, yes, just for you Twitter, thanks to the magic of copy and paste, here are all of Thicke’s answers from the Q&A, suffixed to the questions that VH1 refused to ask him. I’m sure you’ll agree, it makes for much more insightful reading.

@angelacobb: “Beetlejuice called and he wants his outfit back! What’s taking so long?”

Robin Thicke: “Because ‘Beatrice’ didn’t have the same ring to it”. [No Rob, she said ‘Beatlejuice’]

@LaurenHarsh1: “If one of your songs played in a forest and no one was around to hear it would it still be sexist and gross?”

Robin Thicke: “Yes, the most”.

@PawBlakNme: “Apart from being a talentless misogynist, why are you just not very good?”

Robin Thicke: “Cause smart people know better :)”

@KittyKnits: “It might seem like some of the questions on this hashtag are cruel and abusive but Robin, I know you want it”

Robin Thicke: “I’m a big boy, I can handle it”.

@RachelMcKibbens: “On a scale of R Kelly to Phil Spector, how do you intend to ‘Get Her Back?'”

Robin Thicke: “The Beatles”.

@ProResting: “How many naked women did it take before you stopped seeing them as people and instead saw them as YouTube hits?”

Robin Thicke: “Two … new videos today ‘Still Madly Crazy’ [and] ‘Forever Love'”.

@MsJoNeary: “I have a spare darning mushroom. Would you like it?”

Robin Thicke: “Too much upkeep”.

@garwboy: “Does Pharrell Williams return your calls anymore?”

Robin Thicke: “If you listen to the album you wouldn’t ask that question”.

@Jenny_Brammall: “Is your wife planning on writing an album called ‘Robin’ where she sings the fine print of a restraining order?”

Robin Thicke: “Yes because our child comes first”. [I’m not sure it’s appropriate for you to bring your child into this, Robin]

@Scriblit: “When did you decide that the Creepy PE Teacher look was the style for you?”

Robin Thicke: “April 1st and most of the album was done in two weeks”.

@Pundamentalism: “Once you’ve cracked ‘hug me’, any thoughts on what rhymes with ‘misogynistic douchebag’?”

Robin Thicke: “Lock The Door”.

@newageamazon: “Is the creepy stalking thing a sick publicity stunt at your ex’s expense, or just a thoughtless grab for attention and relevance?”

Robin Thicke: “She’s always been my muse only this time from a distance”.

@MariaJPrice: “Did you really write a rape anthem as a love song for your wife and are you still wondering why she left you?”

Robin Thicke: “I have no idea. I just want the world to know how special she is”.

Well, I think that’s all we have time for. Do you have anything else to add, Robin?

Robin Thicke: “Thank you all for your time. I love you and hope the album brings you joy”.

Thanks Robin! Bye!