The exclusive partnership between hip-hop mogul Jay Z and the high-end retailer Barneys New York, "A New York Holiday" collection, was put into a risky situation, due to the recent incidents regarding racial discrimination. Yesterday, Barneys CEO Mark Lee apologized to Jay Z, saying that the recent allegations of racial profiling leveled against Barneys have taken away from the work of Jay Z's foundation, and that no one at the retailer had racially profiled the customers in question.

In September, Jay Z revealed the collection with Barneys, which was planned to include themed window displays, lots of ads and a massive party that will all feature the special-edition merchandise from top fashion houses.

Last week, there were two separate incidents in which Barneys committed racial discrimination against two African American customers, a 19-year-old Trayon Christian and 21-year-old Kayla Phillips, who were both questioned by New York Police Department officials as suspects of using fraudulent credit card.

As a result, the Brooklyn resident Derick Bowers launched a petition on change.org and requested Jay Z to end his business relationship with Barneys New York, saying that Jay Z should be "appalled by Barney's actions." On Saturday, Jay Z in return made a statement that he is waiting on facts before deciding how to address his business deal with Barneys.

"We deeply regret that these recent events have distracted from the great work of the Sean Carter Foundation, and we offer our sincere apologies to Mr. Carter," said Mark Lee. "Our collaboration together is based on the shared mission of helping individuals facing socio-economic hardships."

"No one, and I mean no individual should go through the unacceptable experiences described by Trayon Christian and Kayla Phillips," Lee said about the involved customers. "We offer our deepest sympathies to both of them."