The parents of the young black model who posed in a H&M hoodie with the word “monkey” on it say they don’t believe the photograph was intended to be racist. 
 
 The image of five-year-old Liam Mango, a Swedish child model, wearing a green hoodie that reads “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle” went viral last week and caused outrage, with the likes of The Weeknd, Diddy and LeBron James criticizing H&M for the seemingly tone-deaf campaign and social media users deeming it racist. H&M has since apologized for using the photograph. 
 
 On Monday, Liam’s parents, Terry Mango and Frank Odhiambo, addressed the controversy on the U.K.’s This Morning program on ITV. 
 
 “I wouldn’t see such a connection to anything other than my son modeling a shirt,” said Mrs. Mango, speaking about the racial connotations of the advertisement. “With the furore going on, you look back and wonder, if you had noticed it, what would be my initial response to it?” 
 
 Mango went on to say that she doesn’t feel the controversy is an overreaction, however, and supported people speaking out about racism—though she doesn’t necessarily share the same opinion in this instance. 
 
 “Everybody should act differently based on their opinions of what racism is,” said the boy’s mother. “I know what racism is—I’ve had racist remarks directed to me. I’ve been called ‘monkey’ on a cruise ship and my reaction is the same as the world is reacting right now.” 
 
 But, said Mango, “To put the T-shirt and the word ‘monkey’ with racism, maybe that is not my way of looking at it. I’m just looking at Liam, a black, young boy, modeling a T-shirt that has ‘monkey’ on it. I think everyone should respect different opinions on racism.” 
 
 Young Liam’s parents say their son loves modeling and was contracted to the H&M campaign through a modeling agency in Stockholm. Mango or Odhiambo usually accompany Liam to his shoots and told the program they did not recall Liam posing in the hoodie in question until the image surfaced online and caused uproar last week. 
 
 Odhiambo said he worried about his family’s safety after the story received worldwide press attention. “It’s very important that people should understand we have a son, we have other children in the home, and we have an obligation to protect our children,” said the boy’s father. 
 
 The boy’s mother said young Liam isn’t aware of the racism controversy surrounding the image but understood that he had gained some infamy. “He’s aware he’s a superstar. He’s seen images online. He believes people love him for his modeling job, and he’s cool, and [for] his confidence in his job,” said Mango. ||||| The parents of the boy at the centre of the “racist” H&M hoodie storm have spoken out about the huge reaction the clothing brand as well as the family have received. 
 
 Liam Mango was pictured in a hoodie on the H&M website which read ‘coolest monkey in the jungle.’ 
 
 However after the image was posted online, the company faced a huge backlash, with members of the public calling the decision to use a black child to model the hoodie “racist” and “unacceptable.” 
 
 
 
 
 
 H&M swiftly apologised and Liam’s parents have now revealed they never saw the hoodie the same way as many members of the public. 
 
 Speaking on This Morning from Stockholm, Sweden, mother Terry and father Frank explained they didn’t even know about the hoodie before the internet erupted. 
 
 But Terry said even if she’d seen the slogan before, she doesn’t think that would have rung alarm bells for her. 
 
 “I wouldn’t see such a connection to anything other than my son modelling a shirt,” Terry explained. 
 
 “Until the controversy now, with the whole furore that is going on, then you kind of look back and wonder if you had noticed it, what would be our, or my, initial response to it.” 
 
 But Terry explained she doesn’t believe the furore has necessarily been unjust. 
 
 “It is not an overreaction when it comes to racism, everyone should act differently based on their opinions of what racism is,” she said, explaining that she’s faced racism and even been called a ‘monkey’ herself. 
 
 “To put the T-shirt and the word ‘monkey’ with racism, maybe that is not my way of looking at it,” Terry added. 
 
 “I’m just looking at Liam, a black young boy, modeling a T-shirt that has the word ‘monkey’ on it. 
 
 “Everybody should respect different opinions based on racism.” 
 
 (This Morning) 
 
 The family have had to move out of their home, and Frank explained that they no longer have their “normal family life.” 
 
 “As much as people have gotten involved in this, for me it’s very important that people understand that me and Teresa, we have a son, we have other children in the home that we are raising, and we have an obligation to protect our children,” he said. 
 
 And the parents added that Liam doesn’t really understand the big fuss around him 
 
 “He’s aware he’s a superstar and people love him,” Terry said. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Terry Mango: "Does the shirt, to me, speak racism? No it doesn't" 
 
 The mother of the five-year-old H&M model caught up in a racism row has told the BBC her family has moved house in Sweden "for security reasons." 
 
 Last week, photos of Liam Mango modelling a "coolest monkey in the jungle" hoodie went viral, with social media users accusing H&M of racism. 
 
 Many were angered when Liam's mother Terry Mango defended the brand and told people to stop "crying wolf." 
 
 In South Africa, protesters vandalised H&M stores over the photos. 
 
 Despite the backlash she has faced, Terry Mango still doesn't believe H&M had a racist agenda. 
 
 "I respect other people's opinion on the issue. I know racism exists, but does the shirt to me speak racism? No it doesn't," she told BBC Outside Source. 
 
 Though Mrs Mango has been a victim of racism and acknowledges it's a huge problem, she's been attacked by other black people for not condemning H&M. 
 
 "I [am] a sell out to them, I [am] an embarrassment to the black and African-American people. I sold my son for money," she told BBC Outside Source. 
 
 The family have moved out of their house in Stockholm following "security concerns" Mrs Mango added. 
 
 Though she did not elaborate on the safety reasons, Mrs Mango said the attacks on H&M stores in and around Johannesburg were one reason for the move. 
 
 The protests, which took place on Saturday, were organised by the radical Economic Freedom Fighters' party (EFF). 
 
 Video footage showed protesters trashing displays, kicking over clothes rails and shoving mannequins while police used rubber bullets to disperse them. 
 
 Theirs was not the only protest. 
 
 Amid calls for a global boycott of H&M, musicians The Weeknd and G-Eazy have cut ties with the company, with the former saying the advert made him feel "shocked and embarrassed". 
 
 Despite the furore, Liam Mango remains oblivious. 
 
 "He has no idea what's going on, he's only five... Liam has not experienced [racism yet]," Mrs Mango said. "I just want him to have innocence." ||||| The mother of a black child who was featured in a controversial H&M ad for a hoodie that read, “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle,” said that people calling it racially insensitive need to “get over it.” 
 
 In a series of since-deleted Facebook posts, the mom, Terry Mango, of Stockholm, Sweden, said she didn’t support the backlash over the ad — which even prompted The Weeknd to end his partnership with the brand. 
 
 “Am the mum and this is one of hundreds of outfits my son has modelled,” Mango wrote. “Stop crying wolf all the time, unnecessary issue here … get over it.” 
 
 Mango continued: “If I bought that jumper and put it on him and posted it on my pages, would that make me racist? I get pples opinion, but they are not mine.” 
 
 In another message, Mango said she had been to all of her son’s modeling shoots and was with him when he modeled the hoodie in question. 
 
 “Everyone is entitled to their opinion about this,” Mango wrote. “ … I really don’t understand but not coz am choosing not to but because it’s not my way of thinking, sorry.” 
 
 H&M apologized for the ad on Monday. 
 
 “We’re deeply sorry that the picture was taken, and we also regret the actual print,” the company said in a statement. “Therefore, we’ve not only removed the image from our channels, but also the garment from our product offering.” 
 
 The statement continued: “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.” 
 
 NBA megastar LeBron James and Manchester United forward Romelu Lukaku are among the many who spoke out against the ad. 
 
 “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!” James wrote in a post showing the boy wearing a crown accompanied by the words “King of the World.” ||||| This article is over 9 months old 
 
 Retailer removes photograph of model in top bearing words ‘Coolest monkey in the jungle’ after condemnation 
 
 H&M has apologised for an advert showing a black child in a green hoodie bearing the words “Coolest monkey in the jungle”. 
 
 The ad sparked a backlash on social media, with some calling it inappropriate, disgusting and negligent. 
 
 The image of the model in the green hoodie has been removed from the H&M website; two similar designs modelled by white children remain. 
 
 One bears the words “Mangrove jungle” and “Official survival expert”; the other has outlines of various animals including giraffes and tigers. 
 
 The Labour MP Kate Osamor tweeted: “I was totally shocked, dismayed to say the very least, to find this online imagine. hm do you think this imagery is an appropriate representation of a young black boy?” 
 
 Alex Medina, who works in brand design, tweeted: “In the year 2018 there’s no way brands/art directors can be this negligent and lack awareness. If you look at other sweaters in same category, they have white kids. We have to do better.” 
 
 A person tweeting under the handle vulkaanrots said they would boycott the store: “So the black kid gets to wear the H&M sweater with ‘Coolest monkey in the jungle’ and the white kid with ‘Survival expert’. This is beyond disgusting. 
 
 “It’s a projection of your neocolonial thinking. You won’t see me anywhere near your shops these days hm.” 
 
 A spokeswoman for the retailer said: “This image has now been removed from all H&M channels and we apologise to anyone this may have offended.”
– Controversy keeps swirling around H&M and an online ad that showed a young black boy in a hoodie with the words "Coolest Monkey in the Jungle." The ad has since been removed, but the family of 5-year-old Liam Mango, the ad's model, now says they had to move out of their home in Sweden for "security reasons," Liam's mom, Terry Mango, tells the BBC. Mango didn't get too much into those reasons for vacating their Stockholm residence, but she did mention violent protests in South African H&M stores as a factor. Mango has come under fire herself for her reaction to the ad: The New York Post reports on a series of now-deleted Facebook posts in which she said she didn't think the ad was racist and told people to stop "crying wolf" over this "unnecessary issue" and to "get over it." She elaborated to the BBC that "I know racism exists, but does the shirt to me speak racism? No it doesn't." Mango and Liam's dad, Frank Odhiambo, appeared on a Swedish morning show this week, where Mango says she was once called a monkey herself on a cruise ship and understands why some might be upset about the ad, per Newsweek. Odhiambo says they had to move because they "have an obligation to protect our children," the Independent reports. The one person kept out of the fray so far: little Liam himself. "He has no idea what's going on, he's only 5," Mango tells the BBC, adding that he "has not experienced [racism yet]." Meanwhile, H&M, which was criticized for its first brief apology, has issued a second, lengthier one, per Quartz. "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," it reads.