People Are Slamming H&M for Having a Black Boy Model Their 'Coolest Monkey' Sweatshirt

People are understandably annoyed about a black child modeling a "coolest monkey" sweater.

Mustafa Gatollari - Author
By

Nov. 18 2019, Updated 2:37 p.m. ET

There are some advertising campaigns that are so offensive, they just leave you shaking your head.

Article continues below advertisement

Unfortunately, there's been a lot of campaigns like these as of late. Remember Kendall Jenner's amazing Pepsi ad?

Article continues below advertisement

Yeah, way to take police brutality protests and turn them into a vague, non-messaged advertisement for soda.

As tone deaf as the "join the conversation" ad was, however, it's got nothing on this latest H&M website ad that's got people unbelievably ticked off.

Article continues below advertisement

Apparently, the popular clothing retailer thought it'd be perfectly fine to feature a black child model in a sweatshirt that reads, "Coolest Monkey In The Jungle" on it.

Embedded Image
Source: h&m
Article continues below advertisement

The ad was spotted on the company's UK page and was taken down after social media users began to point out just how offensive it was.

They also released the briefest of apologies for the blunder, because, really, it's difficult to imagine anyone messing up on so grand a scale; better to go the pithy route.

Article continues below advertisement
"This image has now been removed from all H&M channels and we apologise to anyone this may have offended."

People were unanimously condemning the ad on social media, from the Models of Diversity Twitter account...

Article continues below advertisement

To New York Times columnists.

Article continues below advertisement

It's insane to think that not a single person on the retailer's website sat and thought that there would be at least a ginormous amount of backlash before uploading that picture.

Article continues below advertisement

Something that more than a few people mentioned online.

Article continues below advertisement

Users also began pointing out that the hoodie was part of a line of other sweatshirts for young boys. There was a white model rocking an orange sweater, calling him a "Survival Expert."

Article continues below advertisement

Also, this is probably a total coincidence, but when you put the photos of the two models side-by-side, the white kid looks totally horrified that they made the black model wear that sweater.

Article continues below advertisement

Given that African people have had to endure being likened to apes and monkeys by racists for a very long, long time, and it has links to literature and propaganda that dehumanized Africans, it's hard for H&M to argue that they shouldn't have known better.

Article continues below advertisement

People are already hopping on the boycott wagon as a result of the massive blunder.

Article continues below advertisement

Others thought that the kid and his parents deserved as much blame as the clothing retailer, calling people's outrage over the ad, "fake."

Article continues below advertisement
Article continues below advertisement

For the most part though, people just weren't having it.

Article continues below advertisement

Personally, I think it'd make more sense if they had all the kids model all the different shirts, which is how photo shoots for these things usually go. But by having only the African American kid wear the shirt, it definitely looks worse for H&M as a result.

Article continues below advertisement

One of the biggest names in music today, The Weeknd, caught wind of the ad and immediately announced he'll no longer be collaborating with the Swedish clothing line.

Article continues below advertisement

A decision that people are applauding.

And with reports of people saying H&M gave a severely lacking apology, it looks like there'll be even more blowback for the ill-conceived ad for the clothing manufacturer.

Advertisement
More from Distractify

Latest Trending News and Updates

    Opt-out of personalized ads

    © Copyright 2023 Distractify. Distractify is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.