G-Eazy ends partnership with H&M over 'racist' imagery issue
Rapper G-Eazy has joined The Weeknd in cutting ties with clothing brand H&M following the publication of a ‘racist’ image of a child.
G-Eazy ends partnership with H&M over 'racist' imagery issue
He wrote on his social media accounts: "Over the past months I was genuinely excited about launching my upcoming line and collaboration with H&M. Unfortunately, after seeing the disturbing image yesterday, my excitement over our global campaign quickly evaporated, and I've decided at this time our partnership needs to end."
"Whether an oblivious oversight or not, it's truly sad and disturbing that in 2018, something so racially and culturally insensitive could pass by the eyes of so many (stylist, photographer, creative and marketing teams) and be deemed acceptable. I can't allow for my name and brand to be associated with a company that could let this happen. I hope that this situation will serve as the wake up call that H&M and other companies need to get on track and become racially and culturally aware, as well as more diverse at every level."
Meanwhile, H&M issued an unequivocal apology for poorly judged product and image. H&M agreed that it got it wrong and agreed with all the criticism that this has generated and emphasized on how unintentional, passive or casual racism needs to be eradicated wherever it exists.
It further said that the ad was not intended to cause offence but, as a global brand, it realized that it had the responsibility to be aware of and attuned to all racial and cultural sensitivities – and that it did not "live up to this responsibility this time."
The company in a blog post wrote: "This incident is accidental in nature, but this doesn’t mean we don’t take it extremely seriously or understand the upset and discomfort it has caused. We have taken down the image and we have removed the garment in question from sale. It will be recycled.
"We will now be doing everything we possibly can to prevent this from happening again in future. Racism and bias in any shape or form, conscious or unconscious, deliberate or accidental, are simply unacceptable and need to be eradicated from society. In this instance we have not been sensitive enough to this agenda. Please accept our humble apologies."