People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has criticised Kanye West and The Game for using an image of a skinned monkey to promote their collaborative new track ‘Eazy’.

The rappers shared the first image ahead of the release of ‘Eazy’ on Friday (January 14) alongside the caption: “My life was never easy”. Instagram has since flagged the posts as “sensitive content” but similar photos have since been posted by the pair to promote their track, with The Game even changing his profile picture to the skinned primate.

Speaking to Billboard, PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said: “The photo is reminiscent of the monkeys PETA has found, sometimes heads, sometimes hands, sometimes the whole body, in meat markets around the world and it makes it clear that when you remove the fur you can’t miss that there’s a person in there, that they are fellow primates, and do not belong to us to abuse for any purpose – not in laboratories, roadside zoos, movies, or meat markets.”

The disturbing image of a skinned monkey that @kanyewest shared serves as a reminder that there’s no real difference between humans & other animals.

Their lives aren’t easy when we abuse & kill them for food, experiments, clothing, or entertainment. #EndSpeciesism pic.twitter.com/ApA8McboJy

— PETA (@peta) January 14, 2022

Taking to Twitter, PETA added: “The disturbing image of a skinned monkey that Kanye West shared serves as a reminder that there’s no real difference between humans & other animals. Their lives aren’t easy when we abuse & kill them for food, experiments, clothing, or entertainment.”

As it stands, neither Ye or The Game have responded.

West first teased the existence of ‘Eazy’ earlier this week, saying in a recorded phone call with DJ Premier – which was shared on Instagram by designer Tracey Mills – that he planned to release the song. Also in the studio with West and The Game were Pusha T and producer Mike Dean.

It’s currently unknown whether or not ‘Eazy’ will appear on a forthcoming record by West and/or The Game, but it was reported earlier this month that West had started work on the follow-up to his 2021 record, ‘DONDA’, with the working title of ‘DONDA 2’.