Uh oh, H&M seems to be stuck between a rock and a hard place.
The popular clothing line which has a reputation for its fast-fashion clothing for men, women, teenagers and children made new enemies and lost deals over a racially insensitive hoodie jacket that featured on both H&M’s UK and US websites, whereby a child’s green hooded top emblazoned with the phrase: ‘Coolest Monkey In The Jungle’. What made this an issue was that the model for this attire was a black kid, which means, not cool H&M, not cool.
Historically, the term Monkey was used as a derogatory term against the African Americans and has negative connotations attached to that word.
The Weeknd, a singer, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, has been working as a collaborator with H&M on the XO clothing line, told his 8 million followers on Twitter that he is shocked by the news and have decided to not work with the clothing line.
woke up this morning shocked and embarrassed by this photo. i’m deeply offended and will not be working with @hm anymore… pic.twitter.com/P3023iYzAb
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) January 8, 2018
Today, Bay Area rapper G-Eazy, who in mid-December announced a line with international clothing retailer H&M, has left the partnership, citing concerns over a controversial item being sold on their site.
In regards to H&M pic.twitter.com/EuvWMmZ6XA
— G-Eazy (@G_Eazy) January 9, 2018
After a swift backlash, H&M decided to take down the picture and has pulled the products out for purchases and apologized to the public for their mistake.
— H&M (@hm) January 9, 2018
Manchester United striker footballer Romelu Lukaku, took matters into his own hands and doctored the image in the best way a perfectly photoshopped of the racist H&M advert.
You’re prince soon to be a king 🤴🏿 Don’t let anybody tell you different … #blackexcellence
A post shared by Romelu Lukaku (@rlukaku9) on
H&M, not cool at all.