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Grey's Anatomy star brands H&M as 'irresponsible' over 'racist' ad

Grey's Anatomy star Jesse Williams has disassociated himself from H&M following the backlash they received from a controversial picture of a little boy wearing a jumper on their website.

Earlier this week, people were left baffled by the clothing company's choice to feature a young black boy on their website wearing a green hoodie with the slogan ‘Coolest Monkey in the Jungle’ emblazoned on the front.

Jesse himself starred in one of their holiday campaigns last year because of the diversity H&M promoted but has since changed his tune.

Grey's Anatomy star Jesse Williams, here in Los Angeles in December 2017, has branded H&M as
Grey's Anatomy star Jesse Williams, here in Los Angeles in December 2017, has branded H&M as
Many have branded this advert from H&M as
Many have branded this advert from H&M as

The actor took to social media to scathe the company over their recent ad.

He slammed the retailer for their "pathetic excuse for corporate behaviour and irresponsibility".

"The collateral damage of this corporate, colonial mind-state occurs several times a year," he said on Instagram posting a picture of the H&M board of directors, "and it’s predictable the world over, like the seasons, so when I laid eyes on it, my initial reaction was neither shock nor anger. It was boredom."

"This old world, white power, failing-upward culture of reckless trampling that repeatedly exposes itself, is boring already," he continued. "Aren’t you bored?"

Jesse's full post on Instagram. Source: Instagram / @ijessewilliams
Jesse's full post on Instagram. Source: Instagram / @ijessewilliams

The 36-year-old isn't the only celebrity to call out the clothing retailer.

Both The Weeknd and P Diddy took to social media earlier this week to cut ties with the brand over the ad.

"Woke up this morning shocked and embarrassed by this photo. i’m deeply offended and will not be working with @hm anymore (sic)," The Weeknd wrote on Twitter.

"Put some respect on it!! When you look at us make sure you see royalty and super natural God sent glory!! Anything else is disrespectful," P Diddy said on Instagram.



H&M has since responded to the controversy in a statement on Twitter.

"We understand that many people are upset about the image of the children's hoodie," the company said. "We, who work at H&M can only agree.

"We're deeply sorry that the picture was taken, and we also regret the actual print. Therefore, we've not only removed the image from our channels, but also the garment from our product offering.

"It's obvious that our routines haven't been followed properly. This is without any doubt. We'll thoroughly investigate why this happened to prevent this type of mistake from happening again."

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