Clothing company H&M found itself in hot water on Monday after some angry online shoppers discovered a potentially offensive ad for a boys’ sweatshirt.
H&M apologizes for using a black child in a ‘racist’ sweatshirt ad — but some people don’t think it’s enough https://t.co/ayvFLsf4QA pic.twitter.com/rBTDVbcyyp
— INSIDER (@thisisinsider) January 8, 2018
The ad, which has since been removed, sparked outrage on social media after New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow complained about it on Twitter.
. @hm, have you lost your damned minds?!?!?! pic.twitter.com/EYuCXLZtv3
— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) January 8, 2018
Blow’s tweet quickly went viral, receiving close to 5,000 retweets in less than 24 hours. And thousands of twitter users chimed in, calling for H&M to not only take the ad down and apologize, but even accusing the Sweden-based company of intentional racism.
Look at EVERY kid/ sweatshirt pairing. It’s absolutely intentional racism
— Wendy Parr (@wendyparr) January 8, 2018
Can’t be more confused and disgusted. H&M decided to put the black boy in a “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle” hoody and the white boy in a “Survival Expert” hoody. Can’t believe it’s 2018 and this offensive sickening racism still exists. We all must boycott H&M till they apologize. pic.twitter.com/OdynDKupjS
— BASH (@XIBash) January 8, 2018
Is it just only me that feels like businesses are purposely doing this – https://t.co/3jphx0azPr
— Hannah Agboola (@Hannahagboola_) January 8, 2018
Yeah, not sure who OK’d this onehttps://t.co/XrLAlUKoFI
— James Rodger (@jamesdrodger) January 8, 2018
H&M aint dumb. This is pure marketing. They knew we would be outraged, repost/RT on every major blog. Protest wont work cuz ppl still gonna shop at H&M. They gonna shoot us a “missed the mark” apology then move on with millions of eyes on their brand. And didnt have to pay a dime pic.twitter.com/R8FsIYUZnY
— Jay (@JayUncut) January 8, 2018
Plenty of other users saw the ad as harmless and called out insulted Twitter users for forcing race into every discussion.
My parents used to call me a monkey, if that photo offends you because he’s black maybe you’re the racist?
You’re the one who viewed that image through a racial lens.
— Steve (Larry) (@Libertarian306) January 8, 2018
Who the hell are you calling a monkey anyway? Why would that even come to your mind, racist?
— Lorem Ipsum (@estate_fifth) January 8, 2018
It’s worth noting that H&M is based in Sweden, a largely progressive country that prides itself on its open border refugee policies and liberal approach to welfare. While it doesn’t have the same history of racial inequality as the US, it has been criticized in the past for undercover racism and xenophobia.
The company issued an apology on Monday, saying “We sincerely apologize for offending people with this image of a printed hooded top. 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.”
This isn’t the first time H&M has sparked colossal online controversy. In 2014, the clothing company was accused of antisemitism for selling shirts that featured skulls superimposed inside what appeared to be the Star Of David. And in 2017, H&M was accused of racism for featuring Native American headdresses in their stores.