The fallout from H&M's major gaffe last month continues. Not only has rapper G-Eazy cut ties with the fashion brand after a racially insensitive ad went up on its U.K. retail site, but told NME in a new video interview it was a "very easy decision" to make. The original ad featured a black model with a hoodie that read “coolest monkey in the jungle” across the front, garnering plenty of backlash before eventually being taken down by the retailer. H&M offered an apology and promised a new commitment to diversity, but the damage had already been done. This is the second artist to drop the brand as a partner in the wake of the ad, with The Weeknd tweeting he was "shocked, embarrassed, and deeply offended" by the photo before making it clear he would no longer be working with the Swedish company.
G-Eazy was set to release a collaborative fashion line with the brand on March 1st but opted to ax it in light of the controversy. “It was a very easy decision,” he told NME. “It was like ‘get me out of this, I don’t want to be attached to this anymore’. I think it’s important when you feel strongly about something, to speak about it. I was in a position because that collaboration was about to come out. It was literally being announced a couple of days later."
The rapper was obviously excited about the line, but his excitement quickly turned sour after images spread across social media. He shared a post on Twitter addressing his decision. “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," the note read. "I can’t allow for my name and brand to be associated with a company that could let this happen.”
G-Eazy would go on to explain why it was important for him to use his platform to speak out about the things that matter to him. "Being in that position, I'm at the forefront, I'm with all of this. And with this attention, I'm in a spot and this is how I feel about it."
