H&M Sparks MASSIVE Outrage With ‘Racist’ Hoodie – Angry Celebs Respond
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January 9, 2018A sweatshirt meant for little kids is causing a HUGE stir….
The offensive message?
“coolest monkey in the jungle.”
H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) is under fire for using a black child to model a sweatshirt sporting the phrase “coolest monkey in the jungle.”
The image first appeared over the weekend on the British version of the Swedish-based retailer’s website.
Upon noticing an advertisement with the photo, social media users erupted in outrage at H&M for what they deemed to be a racist and inconsiderate move.
American percussionist Questlove was among those to object, writing on Instagram (where he has over 1 million followers):
As of Monday morning, H&M had removed the ad from its website, a spokesperson told CNBC, but it continued to sell the hooded top online, although not in the U.S.
“We sincerely apologize for offending people with this image of a printed hooded top,” the spokesperson said. “We believe in diversity and inclusion in all that we do and will be reviewing all our internal policies accordingly to avoid any future issues.”
My take? I don’t think for a moment this was done to be intentionally racist.
I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with the sweatshirt. I’ve heard people call toddlers their “little monkeys” before.. because toddlers are silly and climb on everything they can… like mischievous little monkeys! It’s certainly a term of endearment in every instance I’ve heard it used towards children.
HOWEVER
Given society’s hypersensitivity to race issues, and the fact that “monkey” HAS been used as a derogatory term for black people… I think this advert lacked in judgement. I’m not one to get all weird about race stuff… but I could have told you people were going to be upset over this. It wasn’t meant to have ANY sort of message… so why not just avoid it, you know?
I obviously don’t think people should bend over backwards to be PC… but I also don’t think retailers should shoot themselves in the foot unless they’re trying to make a point.
A retailer offending people because they want to say “Merry Christmas” and express their values = GOOD!
A retailer offending people because no one had the foresight to realize the word monkey on a little black boy’s shirt was gonna freak people out = Pointless.
I think it’s really unfortunate that people can’t look beyond race, and automatically assume that a term of endearment on a specific child’s sweatshirt is racist… but that’s the reality of the society we live in.
Whatever. I really do think people need to chill. I refuse to believe there’s ANY chance this was done on purpose….
But a bunch of celebrities are losing their CRAP. Rapper the Weeknd, (with no E.) Diddy or whatever his name is now, and Lebron James are all storming the H&M castle with pitchforks.
The Weeknd is making it VERY clear — H&M’s apology for a racist online ad has fallen on deaf ears — and he’ll never work with them again.
Abel — who launched his own line with H&M last year — posted a message about the tasteless ad, saying, “woke up this morning shocked and embarrassed by this photo. i’m deeply offended and will not be working with H&M anymore …”
LeBron James ain’t havin’ none of that racist H&M clothing ad featuring a black kid in a sweatshirt that reads, “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle” … telling the clothing company, “U got us all wrong!”
After stars like Diddy and The Weeknd blasted the company for the insanely racially-insensitive ad — King James weighed in with the most positive (yet condemning) statement yet.
“@hm u got us all wrong! And we ain’t going for it! Straight up!”
“Enough about y’all and more of what I see when I look at this photo. I see a Young King!! The ruler of the world, an untouchable Force that can never be denied!”
“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!! #LiveLaughLove❤️ #LoveMyPeople”
As for H&M, the company pulled the ad and apologized — and pulled the item from their stores.
Seeee…. that feels awfully dramatic to me.
Why can’t we all just say “Huh. Whoever put that together must have been unaware that the term “monkey” has been used to disparage black people in the past. Nice to know that person is unaware of racial epithets and just thought green looked good on that adorable little boy.
Nope… that wouldn’t be SCANDALOUS enough.
We gotta moan about it.
