G-Eazy announced on Instagram that he is terminating his relationship with fast fashion retailer H&M in response to the brand’s use of a black boy to model a sweatshirt that featured the phrase “coolest monkey in the jungle.” The decision comes one day after The Weeknd cut ties with the company, saying he was “deeply offended” by the product photo.
G-Eazy planned to release a collection with H&M on March 1. The rapper attributed his decision to cancel those plans to the company’s inability to recognize that the image could be seen as insensitive. “Whether an oblivious oversight or not, it’s truly sad and disturbing that in 2018, something so racially and culturally insensitive could pass by the eyes of so many (stylist, photographer, creative and marketing teams) and be deemed acceptable,” he wrote in an Instagram caption.
H&M removed the image from its website in response to widespread criticism online, including from Diddy, Lebron James, and Questlove. You can read G-Eazy’s full statement below.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bdvyi6nnZZD/
