--- title: #AskThicke Backfires on Robin Thicke As Critics Hijack Hashtag description: A planned Twitter Q&A with Robin Thicke went awry when critics hijacked the #AskThicke hashtag to question his treatment of women canonical: https://time.com/2945115/askthicke-robin-thicke-twitter-hashtag-disaster/ author: Megan Gibson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-01T16:06:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T08:55:07.648Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Well, #AskThicke sure backfired for Robin Thicke og:description: The hashtag was quickly hijacked by detractors and critics og:url: https://time.com/2945115/askthicke-robin-thicke-twitter-hashtag-disaster/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blted36629dac37b02f/69869a05e8524b0883603b46/484444403.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Robin Thicke At Hard Rock's Rehab Pool Party og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Well, #AskThicke sure backfired for Robin Thicke twitter:description: The hashtag was quickly hijacked by detractors and critics twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blted36629dac37b02f/69869a05e8524b0883603b46/484444403.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Robin Thicke's #AskThicke Hashtag Completely Backfired ## Video: Robin Thicke Not Giving Up On His Marriage [Watch (HLS stream): Robin Thicke Not Giving Up On His Marriage](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/B6bwqxpH.m3u8) (1:36)  _Published 2014-02-28. Robin Thicke isn’t giving up on his marriage. The 36-year-old singer was caught by TMZ cameras Wednesday and had just one thing to say about his separation from actress Paula Patton: “You know, just trying to get her back.”_ by [Megan Gibson](https://time.com/author/megan-gibson/) ## Megan Gibson Jul 1, 2014 4:06 PM UTC  Singer Robin Thicke arrives at the Vanity Nightclub at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino during the resort's Rehab pool party on April 12, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Singer Robin Thicke arrives at the Vanity Nightclub at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino during the resort's Rehab pool party on April 12, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada.Gabe Ginsberg--Getty Images by [Megan Gibson](https://time.com/author/megan-gibson/) ## Megan Gibson Jul 1, 2014 4:06 PM UTC Talk about a promotional stunt gone wrong. In order to promote Robin Thicke’s new album _Paula_ (out Tuesday), VH1 organized a Q&A with the singer for 1:30 EST on July 1\. And ahead of the Q&A session, they requested that fans [submit their questions](https://twitter.com/jazzmen%5Fk/status/483932437085310976) on Twitter using the #AskThicke hashtag. Though under ordinary circumstances this might seem like a great way to connect fans to a celebrity, Thicke isn’t an ordinary pop star — in fact, much of his time in the spotlight has been mired with controversy. Whether it’s coming under fire for the questionable lyrics found in “Blurred Lines” (sample line: “I know you want it”) or being photographed [groping fans](https://twitter.com/7he%5FOne/status/483957820745056257), Thick has developed a reputation for being a total sleaze. Even his latest stunt, which has involved a very public campaign to win back his estranged wife, actress Paula Patton — to whom his new album is dedicated — hasn’t scored him any points, as most people have derided it for being creepy and manipulative. So it’s hardly surprising that the #AskThicke hashtag was quickly hijacked by critics, who seized on the opportunity to share some of their opinions of the singer. Soon the #AskThicke timeline was inundated with queries about misogyny, plays on some of Thicke’s more ridiculous lyrics and cracks about his relationship with Patton. > [](https://twitter.com/ProResting/status/483753363851722752) > [](https://twitter.com/Pundamentalism/status/483895195059363840) > [](https://twitter.com/Scriblit/status/483735562948706305) > [](https://twitter.com/newageamazon/status/483741713773498368) In fact, when searching the hashtag on Twitter, it’s pretty much impossible to find a single tweet from a genuine fan amongst the tweets from Thicke’s critics, not to mention those who just happen to find the whole derailed hashtag hilarious. Then again, in terms of publicity, #AskThicke has drawn even more attention to Thicke. But it doesn’t seem likely that the spotlight will help the singer in his quest to win back Patton — _or_ in his quest to sell albums. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2945115/askthicke-robin-thicke-twitter-hashtag-disaster/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2945115/askthicke-robin-thicke-twitter-hashtag-disaster/"},"headline":"Robin Thicke's #AskThicke Hashtag Completely Backfired","datePublished":"2014-07-01T16:06:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:55:07.648Z","description":"A planned Twitter Q&A with Robin Thicke went horribly awry when critics hijacked the #AskThicke hashtag to question the \"Blurred Lines\" crooner's treatment of women","url":"https://time.com/2945115/askthicke-robin-thicke-twitter-hashtag-disaster/","keywords":["Social Media","Music","Robin Thicke"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blted36629dac37b02f/69869a05e8524b0883603b46/484444403.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan Gibson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/megan-gibson/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blted36629dac37b02f/69869a05e8524b0883603b46/484444403.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Robin Thicke At Hard Rock's Rehab Pool Party","caption":"Robin Thicke At Hard Rock's Rehab Pool Party","creditText":"Gabe Ginsberg--Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2945115/askthicke-robin-thicke-twitter-hashtag-disaster/","name":"Robin Thicke's #AskThicke Hashtag Completely Backfired"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Robin Thicke Not Giving Up On His Marriage","description":"Robin Thicke isn’t giving up on his marriage. 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