Protestors Trash H&M Store In South Africa Over ‘Racist’ Hoodie Ad

Clothing brand H&M is dealing with the first major PR nightmare of 2018, with people outraged over a particular hoodie. Some have branded the Swedish retailer 'racist' after a green jumper had the phrase, 'Coolest Monkey In The Jungle' written across the front and a black child wearing it.

While the mother of the boy has told people to 'get over it', it hasn't stopped people across the world calling H&M all the names under the sun.

But people in South Africa have taken their outrage a step further and have absolutely trashed at least four H&M stores.

Credit: African News Network 7

One person wrote on Twitter: "Racism must fall and we will never tip toe around racists."

The affected stores are reportedly closed until further notice.

In an attempt to cool the backlash, H&M obviously took down the hoodie advertisement that started this whole mess, but that hasn't stopped singer The Weeknd from cutting ties with the label.

Rapper P Diddy even offered the kid at the centre of the scandal a $1 million (£730,000) modelling contract for his brand, Sean John.

H&M hasn't had the best experience in Africa in the two years since its first store opened on the continent. The brand was accused of having a lack of diversity, with virtually all the models used for their advertisements being white.

When a person on social media pulled H&M up on the issue, they responded with: "H&M's marketing has a major impact and it is essential for us to convey a positive image. We want our marketing to show our fashion in an inspiring way, to convey a positive feeling.

"Our marketing policy, campaign productions and work is something we constantly discuss internally and with creative professionals. We work with a wide range of models and personalities throughout all our marketing both online, outdoor and in store."

People were confused about the 'positive image' remark, asking H&M if they thought black people conveyed another message.

"We apologise if we have upset anyone as this wasn't our intention."