The Weeknd kicks H&M into touch over “racist” image

Canadian singer and record producer, The Weeknd, has severed ties with H&M after an image of a hoodie-wearing black child, accompanied by the slogan “coolest monkey in the jungle”, appeared on its UK website.

The retailer received a fierce social media backlash over the weekend, with people slamming it as “offensive”, “irresponsible” and “racist”. An H&M spokeswoman said: “This image has now been removed from all H&M channels and we apologise to anyone this may have offended.”

The Weeknd, who has a clothing line with the retailer, tweeted yesterday: "Woke up this morning shocked and embarrassed by this photo. I'm deeply offended and will not be working with H&M anymore." He first teamed up with H&M in 2017, modelling in ad campaigns and collaborating on pieces for his XO brand.