H&M ‘racist’ hoodie row sees Man Utd star Romelu Lukaku and singer The Weeknd sever ties with fashion giant over pic of a black kid wearing ‘coolest monkey’ top
The advert shows the model, aged around eight, wearing a green hoodie carrying the controversial slogan
MANCHESTER United footballer Romelu Lukaku has blasted H&M after the clothing giant was accused of racism over an advert showing a young black child modelling a hoodie with the words: "Coolest monkey in the jungle."
The advert shows the model, aged around eight, wearing a green hoodie carrying the controversial slogan.
And the 24-year-old Belgian also added his voice to the protest with an Instagram post.
The striker replaced the original slogan with the words "Black is Beautiful".
He added: "You're a prince soon to be a king. Don't let anybody tell you different ... #blackexcellence".
And Canadian singer The Weeknd, who has a clothing line with the retailer, tweeted: “Woke up this morning shocked and embarrassed by this photo.
“I’m deeply offended and will not be working with @hm anymore…"
Rapper King Push, also expressed his anger and announced he would never shop at H&M again, adding “not even for T-shirts”.
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Style blogger Stephanie Yeboah shared the advert on Twitter, writing: "Whose idea was it @hm to have this little sweet black boy wear a jumper that says 'coolest monkey in the jungle'?
"I mean. What."
"I'm f***ing disgusted," she adds. "Like...what was the thought process behind this @hm ???"
The post was retweeted nearly 14,000 times within a day of being shared on January 7.
But many people disagreed with the accusations.
George wrote on Twitter: "That obviously isn't meant to be racist. It's only offensive if you choose for it to be, which you have."
And Twitter user Kwame said it was "just modelling" and "done with no harming intention".
However, Ms Yeboah adds: "As somebody who has been called a monkey many times by white people (both to my face and online), this is absolutely unacceptable.
"Ignorance is not an excuse anymore, it's 2018."
H&M have since removed the image and apologised for any offence caused.
The clothing giant has now removed the shirt from sale.
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A H&M spokeswoman said today: “We are deeply sorry that the picture was taken, and we also regret the actual print,” the company said in a statement.
“Therefore, we have not only removed the image from our channels, but also the garment from our product offering globally.”
The row is the latest in a string of racism rows hitting big brands.
In October, Dove was criticised after model Munroe Bergdorf hit out at an advert appearing to show a black woman remove her brown T-shirt to become a white woman in a light beige top.
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