Marvin Gaye III is suffering from potential kidney failure, and remarked that Robin Thicke's lawsuit made him less able to care from his health.

Marvin Gaye III is the oldest adopted son of the late Marvin Gaye. His mother was a niece of Marvin Gaye Senior.

Gaye needs a kidney transplant, unfortunately-but at the same time, he wants to help others in similar circumstances. Gaye announced that he is beginning a campaign to encourage Black and Hispanic people to participate more in organ donation programs.

Marvin Gaye III said that the preemptive lawsuit brought by Robin Thicke against his late father, Marvin Gaye Sr.'s estate was a distraction, particularly with regards to his health. Gaye added that the Thicke lawsuit was affecting his ability to deal fully with his medical problems.

He said,

"I have a lot of better things to do than to be sitting here trying to defend my father's legacy," he said.

Still, Gaye knows it's is role to do so-no matter how much it impacted his health. He added, "I'm glad to [defend my father's legacy] because that's my position in the family."

Gaye said the lawsuit was deeply distracting and distressing to his family, and that they had to spend a lot of time on the defense during a time that Gaye was trying to recuperate and promote his own musical work.

The US Department of Health and Human Services issued a statement saying:

"African-Americans, Asians and Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics/Latinos are three times more likely than Caucasians to suffer from end-stage renal disease, often as the result of high blood pressure and other conditions that can damage the kidneys. Almost 35 percent of the more than 95,000 people on the national waiting list for a kidney transplant are African-American."

Gaye hopes his work will raise awareness of organ donation needs in African-American and Hispanic populations. He plans to donate part of the proceeds from his new album to charity.