Romelu Lukaku weighs in on H&M racism row with own version of controversial advert

Published: January 9 2018 | 19:22

Last updated: January 20 2018 | 01:50

Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku responds to the racism row featuring fashion label H&M by posting his own version of a controversial advertising image.

Manchester United and Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku has joined the criticism of H&M after the fashion retailer sparked a racism row.

The Swedish label has apologised for posting an image that showed a black boy wearing a green hoodie with the slogan 'Coolest Monkey in the Jungle' across it.

The image was deemed "disgusting and shameful" by a high number of people on social media, with the advertisement since pulled from H&M's website.

Lukaku opted to post his own version of the image onto his Instagram page, changing the slogan on the hoodie to "Black is Beautiful" and adding the message: "You're prince soon to be a king. Don't let anybody tell you different... #blackexcellence."

You're prince soon to be a king 🤴🏿 Don't let anybody tell you different ... #blackexcellence

A post shared by Romelu Lukaku (@rlukaku9) on Jan 8, 2018 at 5:24pm PST

The hoodie, which is designed for boys aged one to 10 years old, is still listed for sale on the H&M website, but the controversial image has been replaced by one of the clothing item alone.