H&M Sparks Outrage For Posing Black Child Model In 'Monkey' Sweatshirt

H&M sparked outrage on social media over the weekened for posing a black child model in a sweatshirt emblazoned with the words ā€œCoolest Monkey In The Jungle.ā€

New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow drew attention to the image on H&M e-commerce site in the U.K. in a tweet on Sunday night:

The term ā€œmonkeyā€ has a long history as an ethnic slur.

Reacting to the photograph, many netizens skewered H&M for what they described as tasteless and racist imagery:

While some netizens blamed carelessness, a lack of cultural awareness or bad styling decisions for the retailerā€™s mistake, others werenā€™t quite so forgiving.

ā€œI am certain H&M is aware of the negative connotations presented,ā€ wrote one Twitter user. Another said the choice to model a black child instead of a white child in this specific hoodie, which came in two other colors and designs, was no ā€œaccident.ā€

One person pointed out that the sweatshirt in orange ā€• with the words ā€œSurvival Expertā€ and ā€œJunior Tour Guideā€ on it ā€• was modeled by a white child. ā€œThe entire narrative is a fail for 2018,ā€ said the Twitter user.

The third design, a navy and white animal print with no words, was also modeled by a white child.

Songwriter Wendy Parr blasted the sweatshirt pairing choices:

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H&M has not responded to HuffPostā€™s requests for comment.

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