Father Of Kenyan Boy Caught In The H&M ‘Coolest Monkey’ Controversy Finally Speaks Out (Video)

The H&M race row rages on.

Now the parents of the child model at the center of the controversy are speaking out.

Terry Mango, of Stockholm, Sweden, and her partner Frank Odhiambo have admitted their fears over how the backlash will affect their young son.

Their five-year-old son Liam modelled a hoodie for H&M with the phrase ‘coolest monkey in the jungle’ emblazoned on it.

After the global response triggered by the campaign, the family have had to move house.

Appearing via video link from their home in Sweeden, the couple appeared on ITV’s This Morning in the UK.

Mom Terry – who surprised social media users by saying critics should ‘get over’ the firestorm – told the show’s presenters they have an ‘obligation to protect’ their children.

‘The most unfortunate thing is that my son is very young and there’s a lot that’s going to come with this and that really shakes me a little bit,’ Frank said on the show.

So far the couple have said they have kept Liam away from the dissension.

‘He believes people love him for his modelling job,’ Terry added.

The parents called for their privacy as a family to be respected.

They admitted they haven’t had a ‘normal family life’ since the fall out over their son’s image.

Frank said: ‘As much as people have gotten involved in this for me, it’s very important to understand that me and Terry, we have a son.’

‘We have other children in the home that we are raising and we have an obligation to protect our children.’

‘To me if we had a way to take this off I would take it off today.’

‘The most unfortunate thing is that my son is very young and there’s a lot that’s going to come with this and that really shakes me a little bit.’

So far the couple have managed to convince their little boy that the interest around him has been generated by his modelling skills.

She explained: ‘He’s seen the pictures and he’s seen pictures online. He believes people love him for his modelling job and that he’s cool and confident in his job.’

After the image of Liam wearing the jumper went viral, many celebrities attacked retailer H&M for their poor choice.

Manchester United footballer Romelu Lukaku, basketball player LeBron James and music mogul P Diddy slammed the advert as shoppers called for a boycott of the chain.

Protesters in South Africa trashed stores – temporarily shutting down stores.

Meanwhile musician The Weeknd, who has collaborated and modelled for H&M said he was cutting all ties with the retailer.

The outrage prompted H&M to remove the image from its UK and US websites, and the retailer issued a statement saying it was ‘deeply sorry’.