On Tuesday, in the wake of H&M’s ill-advised, inarguably racist “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle” advertisement featuring a young, black boy modeling their newest hoodie, G-Eazy publicly distanced himself from the company, a decision that resulted in millions in lost revenue.
“I can’t allow for my name and brand to be associated with a company that could let this happen,” he wrote in a post on his Instagram.
While making an appearance on The Breakfast Club on Friday morning, Eazy was asked by show co-host Charlamagne Tha God about his decision and whether the move was a “real” one or simply a PR stunt meant to garner praise.
“It’s a real move, abso-fuckin-lutely,” G-Eazy responded.
When Angela Yee chimed in, suggesting that nobody would walk away from “millions and millions of dollars” strictly for a PR stunt, G-Eazy issued a definitive retort: “At the end of the day, money can’t buy everything. Period. What am I supposed to do? Just have that money and be a terrible human being who is promoting a company that’s doing something like that? I don’t care.”
G-Eazy also acknowledged that, had he not distanced himself from the brand, it could have potentially been “career suicide” as a white MC.
“Before business comes principles,” G-Eazy said.
Amen.