The 'H&M Kid' controversy is just rolling on and on. Just yesterday, the mother of a black boy photographed modelling a H&M hoody with 'Coolest Monkey in The Jungle' on it defended the hoodie, telling people to 'get over it'.
But now Terry Mango, mum of five-year-old Liam who modelled the hoodie, has said that she's been the victim of racist abuse online - all because she defended the hoodie.
While most of the criticism has fallen on H&M for deciding to run the 'racist' image on their UK website, Terry reported that some social media users have turned on her for daring to speak out, even directing the 'monkey' term back at the mother herself. Spot the massive flaw in logic there.
Advert
"How can you fight racism if you make racist remarks?" Mango said as she spoke with Gulf News. "You cannot try to defend my son and use the same words to describe me."
Mango waded in on social media yesterday in an attempt to end the argument, saying her son had modelled 'hundreds of outfits' and frankly, she didn't see the big deal.
Advert
Unfortunately, some people disagreed with her calling it 'an unnecessary issue', leading Mango - who is of Kenyan descent - to suffer further abuse.
"That's my son," Mango posted on Facebook in response to the debate. "[I've] been to all [of his] photoshoots and this was not an exception. Everyone is entitled to their opinion about this. I really don't understand but not [because I'm] choosing not to but because it's not my way of thinking. Sorry."
The photo of Liam modelling the hoody has certainly had a massive impact. H&M quickly pulled the hoodie from their stories worldwide, while several celebrities have blasted the retailer.
Manchester United footballer Romelu Lukaku, basketball player LeBron James and music producer P Diddy are among the celebs who have slammed the advert while thousands of shoppers have called for a boycott of the chain.
Ms Mango's uncle, Kenyan-born music promoter Clay Onyango, said the family have met with H&M and believed the brand had not intended to be racist, but found the decision to run the hoodie mind-boggling.
Advert
"I think they overlooked it. Maybe it's just one of those mistakes that one makes," Onyango told Gulf News, before adding: "But there are many questions you can ask - how did they miss that?"
Following the massive backlash, H&M issued a hasty apology on Instagram yesterday. It said: "We understand that many people are upset about the image. We, who work at H&M, can only agree. This is about common sense.
"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.
"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."
Featured Image Credit: H&M