Pharrell Williams has apologized for the July Elle UK cover where he was photographed wearing a Native American-styled headdress instead of his usual Buffalo hat.

The cover photograph predictably upset people over the cultural appropriation of the headdress and even created the new trending hashtag #NotHappy, as a takeoff from the singer's hit single "Happy."

While Elle UK has not commented, Pharrell quickly stepped forward and apologized in a statement sent to Buzzfeed.
"I respect and honor every kind of race, background and culture," Pharrell commented. "I am genuinely sorry."

According to The Washington Post, the hat swap appears likely to have been at the urging of the Elle staff.

In a blurb, that the magazine has since removed, Elle notes about the cover, "[W]e persuaded ELLE Style Award winner Pharrell to trade his Vivienne Westwood mountie hat for a native American feather headdress in his best ever shoot."

Since the reveal of the controversial cover, Elle UK's Facebook has been slammed by tons of comments from upset people who are appalled he went through with the photo shoot wearing the feathered headdress.

image via Twitter from CBC Music
top image courtesy of Nancy Rivera/ACE/INFphoto.com