The Weeknd has announced he will no longer be working with H&M, following the controversy surrounding a recent advert in which a black child wears a green hoodie bearing the slogan: “Coolest monkey in the jungle.”
The musician has previously collaborated with the high-street label to bring fans capsule collections of affordable streetwear.
The Weeknd announced the end of this partnership on Twitter.
“Woke up this morning shocked and embarrassed by this photo,” he wrote.
“I’m deeply offended and will not be working with H&M anymore...”
The tweet got over 5,700 ‘likes’ and 94,000 retweets within less than 12 hours of being posted.
The backlash over the imagery of the boy and the slogan on the hoodie prompted the Swedish brand to release a statement apologising.
In a statement issued on Twitter H&M admitted their “routines had not been followed properly” and that they understand why “many people are upset about the image.”
“We, who work at H&M, can only agree,” the statement read. “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.”
Unsurprisingly, fans of The Weeknd did not hold back with their reactions.
While some were understandably irate at the debacle, others spoke out in the brand’s defence.
Others said they’d miss The Weeknd’s creations with H&M and frankly don’t want to go back to breaking the bank to afford chic streetwear.