The Weeknd has announced that he is cutting ties with fashion retailer H&M following a controversy over a recent advert.
The company has been hit with accusations of racism this week after a promotional image showed a black child wearing a hoodie that read “Coolest monkey in the jungle”. The image was soon removed following the backlash and H&M has since issued an apology.
The Weeknd – who has modelled in H&M campaigns and sold his XO-branded merchandise in the company’s stores – has since indicated that he will no longer work with the fashion giant.
“Woke up this morning shocked and embarrassed by this photo,” he tweeted, “i’m deeply offended and will not be working with @hm anymore…” See that tweet in full below.
woke up this morning shocked and embarrassed by this photo. i’m deeply offended and will not be working with @hm anymore… pic.twitter.com/P3023iYzAb
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) January 8, 2018
“We sincerely apologize for offending people with this image of a printed hooded top,” a spokesperson for H&M has said following the controversy. “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.”
A new statement has also been issued, which reads: “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.”
Last week it was announced that The Weeknd will headline Coachella 2018, alongside Beyoncé and Eminem.
Elsewhere on the bill are high-profile slots for the likes of SZA, HAIM, Migos and Tyler, the Creator. Coachella will also welcome performances from the likes of St. Vincent, The War on Drugs, David Byrne, alt-J and ODESZA across its two weekends.
The world-famous festival, which is held in the grounds of the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, will take place across two weekends in April, with the first weekend of the festival taking place on April 13-15. The second Coachella weekend will be held a week later, from April 20-22.