Robin Thicke: Pharrell and I were in the studio and I told him that one of my favorite songs of all time was Marvin Gaye’s "Got to Give It Up." I was like, "Damn, we should make something like that, something with that groove." Then he started playing a little something and we literally wrote the song in about a half hour and recorded it. The whole thing was done in a couple hours—normally, those are the best ones. Him and I would go back and forth where I’d sing a line and he’d be like, "Hey, hey, hey!" We started acting like we were two old men on a porch hollering at girls like, "Hey, where you going, girl? Come over here!" That’s why, in the video, we’re doing all these old men dances. It was great.

GQ: Yeah, the catcalling old man vibe definitely comes through in the video.

Robin Thicke: That’s what I wanted to create, just imitating how we were in the studio. A lot of my videos and songs have been so serious—about love and pride and relationships and hope and getting over insecurities and vulnerabilities. But lately, I’ve just wanted to have fun and enjoy my life, really appreciate all the great things that I have, like a great wife, a great child, and a great career. That shows up in the music with more humor and light-heartedness.

GQ: I didn’t know T.I. could dance.

Robin Thicke: I just said, "Hey, do some old man dances!" And he went for it. T.I. and I have become best buddies since then. He’s a great guy.

**GQ: How did T.I. end up on the track? **

Robin Thicke: Well, at first it was me and Pharrell. Then I thought, who else is a grown Southern gentleman with a family? T.I. Even though he’s a hardcore rapper, he’s a real Southern gentleman. He says "Sir" and "Ma’am," he stays cool, and he’s really beloved. Pharrell’s the same way. It was just three really nice guys having a good time together.

GQ: Some animals also made it into the video...

Robin Thicke: We tried to do everything that was taboo. Bestiality, drug injections, and everything that is completely derogatory towards women. Because all three of us are happily married with children, we were like, "We’re the perfect guys to make fun of this." People say, "Hey, do you think this is degrading to women?" I’m like, "Of course it is. What a pleasure it is to degrade a woman. I’ve never gotten to do that before. I’ve always respected women." So we just wanted to turn it over on its head and make people go, "Women and their bodies are beautiful. Men are always gonna want to follow them around." After the video got banned on YouTube, my wife tweeted, "Violence is ugly. Nudity is beautiful. And the ’Blurred Lines’ video makes me wanna..." You know. And that’s the truth. Right now, with terrorism and poverty and Wall Street and Social Security having problems, nudity should not be the issue.

GQ: The video also features an interesting balloon arrangement.

Robin Thicke: That wasn’t my idea! [laughs] That was director Diane Martel’s idea. I was like, "You sure T.I. and Pharrell will be okay with that?" The whole point was to go over the top, knock down the ceiling, jump over the wall and say, we’re gonna do things everyone is afraid to do, as brash and fearless as possible. Diane did the whole video. All I told her was that I wanted it to be funny and for it to have some Benny Hill type stuff. We just wanted it to be as silly as possible. That way, the nudity isn’t taken seriously.