Drink, Divorce And Paula: 2014 Has Been A Really Bad Year For Robin Thicke

Robin Thicke is fast becoming short-hand for disaster zone. Last year his single, Blurred Lines, which he penned and performed with Pharrell Williams, was the biggest selling single of the year, hitting number one around the globe.

It might have been banned in some places for it’s sexiest and frankly abusive connotations, but Thicke still seemed happy to be associated with it. He tried to argue it was meant to be ironic or about his then wife Paula Patton, but it’s hard to budge that ‘creep’ label, especially after his vomit inducing performance at the MTV VMAs with Miley Cyrus.

Yes that was the successful year, in comparison 2014 has been a huge disaster. His wife of 15 years Paula Patton left him in February and he very publicly used the media to beg her to come back, but she didn’t budge. In June his album, dedicated to her and containing some of the slimiest lyrics we’ve ever heard became one of the biggest flops of the decade. It only sold 550 copies in the UK and did as bad around the globe, suffice to say it’s been quiet on the music front ever since. A Twitter takeover for VH1 at the time, which asked it’s followers for questions for Robin, gave a taster of what fans thought of him and it’s not just the music they hate.

This week we’ve had the revelation that Robin doesn’t remember much of 2013, mainly because he was addicted to Vicodin and alcohol. He’s currently being sued, along with the other writers of Blurred Lines by Marvin Gaye’s family, who claim the track rips of Got To Give It Up.

But Thicke’s innocent according to the deposition testimony he gave Gaye’s lawyers, because he didn’t write the track, he lied about it.

Thicke said under oath that it was actually all Pharrell’s creation and he wasn’t involved, despite taking royalties from the mega bucks it clocked up. Court documents claim he said: “The biggest hit of my career was written and produced by somebody else, and I was jealous and I wanted some of the credit. I started kind of convincing myself that I was a little more part of it than I was.”

When asked why he’d said he had written it in a GQ interview, Thicke blamed his addictions: “With all due respect, I was high and drunk every time I did an interview last year.”

He added: “Every day, I woke up, I would take a Vicodin to start the day and then I would fill up a water bottle with vodka and drink it before and during my interviews.”

Following up the revelations, which have unsurprisingly caused a storm, Thicke’s lawyers have now claimed he’s actually the victim. Yes after all of this, Robin’s the one who we should feel sorry for.

Robin Thicke in Blurred Lines (YouTube)

His lawyer told TMZ: “Robin’s moment of personal vulnerability is being exploited in the hope of diverting attention from the obvious weakness of their legal claim.”

We’re not going to comment on the legal implications as the case is ongoing, but it’s the latest twist in the Thicke tale. The son of actor Alan Thicke, Robin has been waiting for his big break for years. On the fringe for so long, despite his resources, if he was going to make it, Blurred Lines should have been the launching pad.

We don’t know yet what Pharrell Williams has said about Thicke, but it’s a job to know how Robin can really rebuild his career after this. Pharrell is a prolific producer and unlike Thicke, has had a hugely successful 2014.

In 2015, maybe he should take some time off?