The fashion retailer apologized and pulled the spot on Monday, but the 'Starboy' singer will no longer be modeling for them.
The fashion retailer apologized on Monday after a now-pulled ad depicted a black child wearing a sweatshirt that read, "Coolest monkey in the jungle." Upon learning of the spot, The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye), who modeled for the brand last year, took to Twitter to reveal that he would no longer be working with H&M.
"Woke up this morning shocked and embarrassed by this photo,"the singer wrote. "I'm deeply offended and will not be working with @hm anymore..."
Though the ad has been deleted, The Weeknd and many others who were outraged have since shared the controversial photo in question on social media.
"We sincerely apologize for offending people with this image of a printed hooded top," H&M said in a statement regarding the ad. "The image has been removed from all online channels and the product will not be for sale in the United States.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."
The brand often uses celebrities as its promoters, including Jesse Williams and Nicki Minaj, who co-starred in a holiday commercial for the fashion line late last year.
Others who spoke out against the ad include Questlove, who speculated that there may be a lack of diversity up the brand's corporate ladder.
"I’m sure the apologies are a coming. And the ads will be pulled. I’m certain there will Be media fixers and whatnot and maybe a grand gesture like a donation to some charity (donations under these circumstances are the corporate version #SomeOfMyBestFriendsAre move if there ever was one) all this tells me about @HM is that the seats in the boardroom lack something...wanna take a guess?" the Roots drummer wrote.
RELATED CONTENT:
