Mother Of Child Model At The Center Of H&M Jumper Race Row Speaks Out Against The ‘Unnecessary’ Controversy

The H&M controversy has dominated social media for the past week.

The retailer faced accusations of racism over an image of a black child wearing a hoodie emblazoned with the words ‘coolest monkey in the jungle’.

But the question most people wanted to know is where were the little boy’s parents?

How could they allow him to wear such a outfit?

Now the mother of the child model at the center of the race row has spoken out.

Terry Mango, of Stockholm, Sweden, has branded the backlash to the image ‘unnecessary’.

In a series of Facebook posts, Ms Mango told critics to ‘get over it’ and to ‘stop crying wolf’.

It comes after a wave of musicians, entertainers and sportsmen slammed the image of Ms. Mango’s child wearing the hoodie.

Manchester United footballer Romelu Lukaku, basketball player LeBron James and music mogul P Diddy are just some of the celebrities who took offensive to the picture.

The Weekend, who has collaborated and modelled for H&M announced he was cutting all ties with the retailer.

 

The outrage over the image prompted H&M to remove the image from its UK and US websites.

The clothing giant issues a statement saying it was ‘deeply sorry’.

But Ms Mango, who moved to Sweden from Nigeria, blasted the fierce public response.

She wrote on Facebook: ‘Am the mum and this is one of hundreds of outfits my son has modelled… stop crying wolf all the time, unnecessary issue here… get over it.’

Social media users questioned why Ms Mango was endorsing the ‘racist’ image.

Ms Mango explained she ‘really doesn’t understand’ the issue, adding: ‘Not coz am choosing not to but because it’s not my way of thinking sorry.’

‘In a separate post she added: ‘Everyone is entitled to their opinion.’

The mom also confirmed that she had been at the photoshoot where the photo of her son was taken. She added that she always accompanies her son on modelling jobs.

The image of her son advertising the $10.99 jumper has been removed from H&M’s US and UK websites.

The retailer quickly issued a statement apologizing to ‘anyone it may have offended’.

Manchester United footballer Romelu Lukaku posted an edited picture of the boy on his Instagram page with ‘Black is Beautiful’ on the hoody instead.

He then wrote: ‘You’re prince soon to be a king. Don’t let anybody tell you different… #blackexcellence.’

NBA star LeBron James has also slammed H&M for the advert. He vented on social media: ‘U got us all wrong! And we ain’t going for it! Straight up!

‘Enough about y’all and more of what I see when I look at this photo. I see a Young King!! The ruler of the world, an untouchable Force that can never be denied!

‘We as African Americans will always have to break barriers, prove people wrong and work even harder to prove we belong but guess what, that’s what we love because the benefits at the end of the road are so beautiful!’

Rapper Pusha T posted an edited version of the advert with a crown on the little boy’s head.

The hoody stated with ‘King of the Wold’ in bold type.

He also wrote the caption: ‘Accurate. Never shopped with you ever… not even for Tshirts @hm’.

While The Weeknd tweeted: ‘Woke up this morning shocked and embarrassed by this photo. I’m deeply offended and will not be working with @hm anymore…’

The campaign group Models Of Diversity, which pushes for more diversification across the industry, said H&M should be ‘ashamed’.