Pharrell Says Chad Hugo Has "No Idea" Which Songs He Wrote, Wants Neptunes Lawsuit Tossed

Pharrell filed Oct. 6 to dismiss Neptunes partner Chad Hugo's copyright and money lawsuit, saying Hugo has "no idea" which songs he wrote. Hugo claims he's owed $1M+ from one N.E.R.D. album alone.

The Neptunes split just got uglier.

Pharrell Williams is asking a federal court to throw out the lawsuit his longtime Neptunes partner Chad Hugo filed against him, according to court papers obtained by Rolling Stone and Complex. The motion was filed Tuesday, Oct. 6.

Hugo sued in January. He says Pharrell held back earnings and kept him from seeing the books on The Neptunes and N.E.R.D. He claims the money owed from N.E.R.D.'s 2017 album No One Ever Really Dies alone could top $1 million. Those claims have not been proven in court.

Pharrell's side says that after three versions of the complaint, Hugo still hasn't said clearly which songs he owns. An earlier version listed eight songs, including Rosalía's "Motomami" and two Tyler, the Creator records. Hugo dropped all eight. The latest version names only EarthGang's "U Gotta," and Pharrell's lawyers say it doesn't even say whether Hugo is claiming the song, the recording or both.

"As incomprehensible as it is, it appears that Hugo has no idea which compositions or sound recordings he supposedly authored, even though he claims to have been there, right by defendants' side, the whole time," the filing says.

Pharrell wants the copyright claims dismissed and the rest of the fight pushed to state court. The two Virginia Beach natives already went to war over who owns The Neptunes name back in 2024.

Who you riding with, Pharrell or Chad?

Sources: Rolling Stone (Oct 7, 2026); Complex (Oct 7, 2026); HotNewHipHop (Oct 7, 2026); AllHipHop (Oct 7, 2026). Photo: Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, Aug. 20, 2003, New York City, Theo Wargo/WireImage via Rolling Stone.