Mother Of H&M Child Model Responds To Ad Backlash: ‘Get Over It’

The mother of an H&M child model, whose picture appeared on the company’s site in which he was wearing a hoodie that said “coolest monkey in the jungle,” responded Wednesday to the massive online backlash against the advertisement, by telling people to “get over it.”

Terry Mango, the boy’s mother who lives in Sweden with her son, took to Facebook to comment on the uproar against the apparently “racist” advertisement by H&M, which she described as an “unnecessary issue,” according to a report by Vibe.

In one of the comments, Mango claimed her son wore numerous clothes while modelling and added people should “stop crying wolf all the time.”

However, Mango followed it up with another comment saying people were “entitled to their opinion” about the whole issue. She added she did not consider this an issue because of her “way of thinking.”

Multinational clothing-retail company H&M was subjected to a massive social media outburst this week as their United Kingdom online store showed the picture of a black child model.

The picture went viral on social media and the company faced criticism for the image’s reference to a monkey, an animal that was frequently used in racial and ethnic slanders, the New York Times reported.

H&M issued an apology Tuesday on their official website.

The statement said, “Our position is simple and unequivocal- we have got this wrong and we are deeply sorry. … We agree with all the criticism that this has generated – we have got this wrong and we agree that, even if unintentional, passive or casual racism needs to be eradicated wherever it exists.”

“We appreciate the support of those who have seen that our product and promotion were not intended to cause offence but, as a global brand, we have a responsibility to be aware of and attuned to all racial and cultural sensitivities – and we have not lived up to this responsibility this time,” it added.

The company said although the incident was “accidental,” it didn’t deter them from addressing it “extremely seriously.”

The statement also said the image was removed from the site and the sale of the particular clothing was also stopped.

An earlier tweet by the company stated they agreed the “people are upset” by the picture and H&M was “deeply sorry” about the image, and also expressed “regret” regarding the quote printed on the hoodie.

Canadian pop music artist The Weeknd tweeted saying he was “shocked and embarrassed” by the photo.

American rap artist G-Eazy in a post on Twitter announced he was cutting ties with the clothing brand due to the incident.

Here are some of the social media reactions to the advertisement and Mango's comments on the same.