H&M Apologizes for Racism Over Children’s Hoodie: Social Media Reacts

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What Happened?

Global fast fashion provider H&M has been accused of racism following photo of a young black boy wearing “coolest monkey in the jungle,” across his chest. It wasn’t long before the wrath of the internet community came down on the company for their alleged slur and careless offensive insinuation at the expense of a child.

An apology was offered after consumers exploded on Instagram and Twitter, resulting in the removal of the ad from the British H&M’s website/social media. While the hoodie is still available for purchase, people are expressing support for the child, not the product.

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People also noticed that other hooded sweatshirts from the line featured messages about survival or simple images of animals were respectfully modeled by white children. Questions about who styled the children and how the marketing team for a renowned company did not consider the offensiveness was also part of the social media discussion.

Toronto-based rapper, The Weeknd, who released his own line with H&M last year, announced via Twitter that he will no longer be working with the company. Fans showed their support for The Weeknd, also known as Abel amid controversy of the ad itself. Other artists have lines with H&M but Abel is the first to publicly cut ties. Will Nicki Minaj be the next to sign a deal or did H&M ruin its chances (like Nas and Meek did) with the lady rapper?

“This image has now been removed from all H&M channels and we apologize to anyone this may have offended,” said H&M spokeswoman Anna Eriksson.

Many were disappointed with the apologetic statement released by the H&M headquarters in Sweden, but the company did not provide further comment.

Media Reactions

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