Swedish multinational retail company H&M has released a formal statement of apology for a racist advertisement produced by the company.
H&M has been under public scrutiny for the advertisement which uses a black child to model a sweatshirt that has “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle” printed on the front.
The sweatshirt compares the black child to a monkey—a wild animal. The sweatshirt and picture were approved by various photographers, editors, and managers, among others at the company.
In an interview with Insider, H&M apologizes for the public upset that the ad has caused.
“We strongly believe that racism and bias in any shape or form, deliberate or accidental, are simply unacceptable. We completely understand the criticism and we agree with it,” said an H&M representative.
Many individuals have criticized the picture, including celebrities such as Abel Tesfaye (The Weeknd), Lebron James, G-Eazy, Jesse Williams and Diddy.
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
Tesfaye worked with H&M in 2017 to launch his own clothing and accessory line.
James posted an edited picture of the ad on Instagram, stating that when he saw the ad he did not see a monkey, but rather a young king.
“We as African Americans will always have to break barriers, prove people wrong and work even harder to prove we belong but guess what, that’s what we love because the benefits at the end of the road are so beautiful,” said James on his Instagram post.
The original image was removed from the website and all sweatshirts in H&M stores were taken out by the same afternoon.
Let us know in the comments below of different ways to take action against racist advertisements!
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