Pharrell Williams calls Michael Jackson an ‘insane genius’

Producer Pharrell Williams has insisted Michael Jackson struck a balance between ‘genius and insanity‘ and claimed he isn’t worthy of being compared to the ‘Thriller’ star because he can’t dance.

The N.E.R.D. star insisted the ‘Thriller’ hitmaker – who died in 2009 - was ‘special’ and avoided going ‘off the deep end’ because of his talent as a musician.

Speaking in the autumn/winter edition of GQ Style magazine, he said: ‘Sometimes they go too far and off the deep end but Michael was teetering on that line of genius and insanity and you’ve never seen anyone walking that tightrope for so long as he did.

‘That man was a special one.’ The 40-year-old producer was delighted to be compared to the legendary pop star, but insisted he can’t ‘dance’ as well as the man who popularised the ‘Moonwalk’.

He added: ‘That’s, like, incredibly generous and kind and overreaching. ’That’s hard for me to process. I could never dance like him. He had everything.’

Meanwhile, Pharrell has claimed he grew up around ‘weirdos‘ but his group of friends knew how to use their ‘differences’ to become successes. He explained: ‘I come from the pool of weirdos, the kids who embraced their differences to help them realise that they were special.’