The Weeknd bails on H&M after monkey hoodie controversy
The Canadian singer wasted no time distancing himself
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The Weeknd announced that he will no longer be working with clothing giant H&M after the controversy they caused with a green “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle” hoodie.
The Canadian singer took to Twitter to announce, “woke up this morning shocked and embarrassed by this photo. i’m deeply offended and will not be working with @hm anymore…”
H&M apologized after it was roasted on Twitter over a “racist” hoodie worn by a Black child model on its UK website.
The hoodie, emblazoned with the words “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle,” drew swift backlash.
Several people accused the clothing retail giant of racism or, at best, complete ignorance.
On Monday morning, the racist hoodie was still up for sale with an altered image without the model. However, the item was later removed from all of its websites.
— H&M posts Black child in racist monkey hoodie, barely apologizes —
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
— Abel Tesfaye (@theweeknd) January 8, 2018
So-called apology
In a statement provided to the New York Daily News, H&M somewhat apologized. “This image has now been removed from all H&M channels and we apologise to anyone this may have offended,” they said.
However, the Sweden-based company’s apology did little to extinguish the public flames.
In addition, H&M offered another apology to CBS MoneyWatch: “We sincerely apologize for this image. It has been now removed from all online channels and the product will not be for sale in the United States. We believe in diversity and inclusion in all that we do, and will be reviewing our internal routines.”
History of racism
Most noteworthy, this isn’t the first time H&M has been in hot water over race. In 2015, H&M South Africa was ironically called out for not having any Black models.
The brand only made things worse with its apology when it explained that the use of white models portrayed a more “positive image.” Of course, the statement was quickly slammed as tone deaf.
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