The Weeknd tweeted that he was cutting ties with H&M over a shocking sweatshirt ad many accused of being racist
- H&M used an image of a young black boy to advertise a sweatshirt that said "coolest monkey in the jungle."
- Social media users argued this was racist because "monkey" is a known racial slur.
- The Weeknd, who has a collection with the brand, tweeted Monday that he has cut all ties with it.
The Weeknd is severing ties with H&M after it advertised a sweatshirt many said was racist.
H&M came under fire on social media for using a black boy to advertise a sweatshirt that said "coolest monkey in the jungle." The brand apologized on Monday and removed the item from its US website.
In response, Canadian singer The Weeknd, who has collaborated with H&M to launch two collections in 2017, said that he will no longer work with the brand. His current 18-piece collection, "The Weeknd X H&M," which features a mix of menswear items like sweatshirts and hoodies, is still available online.
"We understand that many people are upset about the image. We, who work at H&M, can only agree. We are deeply sorry that the picture was taken, and we also regret the actual print. Therefore, we have not only removed the image from our channels, but also the garment from our product offering globally. It is obvious that our routines have not been followed properly. This is without any doubt. We will thoroughly investigate why this happened to prevent this type of mistake from happening again," H&M said in a comment to Business Insider.
However, the $10.83 (£7.99 GBP) sweatshirt, is still for sale on H&M's UK site, Insider reported.
The Future of Retail 2018 by the BI Intelligence Research Team.
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