The Weeknd Cuts Ties With H&M Over “Deeply Offensive” Photo

Abel Tesfaye says he is “shocked and embarrassed” by an image of a black boy in a “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle” hoodie

The Weeknd has cut ties with fashion giant H&M after a racially offensive photo surfaced on the retailer’s website of a black boy modeling a hoodie that read “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle.” “Woke up this morning shocked and embarrassed by this photo. I’m deeply offended and will not be working with H&M anymore,” the Weeknd wrote in a tweet. Abel Tesfaye first began collaborating with H&M in 2017, modeling in their campaigns and developing collaborative pieces with the Swedish fashion company under his XO brand. Pitchfork has reached out to representatives for the Weeknd and H&M for further comment.

After various people—including Questlove—spoke out on social media about the racially offensive implications of the photo, H&M issued a statement that read, “We sincerely apologize for offending people with this image of a printed hooded top... 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.”

Update (01/08 2:59 p.m. ET): When reached for comment, a representative for H&M sent Pitchfork the following statement:

We understand that many people are upset about the image. We, who work at H&M, can only agree. We are deeply sorry that the picture was taken, and we also regret the actual print. Therefore, we have not only removed the image from our channels, but also the garment from our product offering globally. It is obvious that our routines have not been followed properly. This is without any doubt. We will thoroughly investigate why this happened to prevent this type of mistake from happening again.