Molly-Mae Hague has come under fire over her “tone deaf” comments on privilege, wealth and people’s background saying that “we all have the same 24 hours in a day” to achieve success.
The 22-year-old reality star who shot to fame in 2019 on the fifth series of Love Island discussed her success as an influencer and creative director for the fashion brand, PrettyLittleThing on the podcast The Diary of A CEO.
“You’re given one life and it’s down to you what you do with it. You can literally go in any direction,” she told host Steven Bartlett.
“When I’ve spoken about that in the past I have been slammed a little bit, with people saying ‘it’s easy for you to say that because you’ve not grown up in poverty, so for you to sit there and say we all have the same 24 hours in a day is not correct.’ But, technically, what I’m saying is correct. We do.”
If you’re homeless just buy a house ❤️ pic.twitter.com/nRBVLBx8a9
— 🚩 (@tsrbys) January 5, 2022
Hague continued: “I understand we all have different backgrounds and we’re all raised in different ways and we do have different financial situations, but I think if you want something enough you can achieve it. It just depends on what lengths you want to go to get where you want to be in the future.
“And I’ll go to any length,” she added: “I’ve worked my absolute a**e off to get where I am now.”
Hague’s comments have sparked backlash on Twitter after this clip of the podcast aired, which was released on December 13th began to circulate online.
Many noted how Hague failed to acknowledge how her privilege has helped her to get to where she is today and also failed to understand the realities of social inequality.
I respect Molly Mae for making the most of her opportunity & grabbing it with both hands, but I DESPAIR at the quote about everyone having the same time in a day as Beyoncé.The reality is that social inequality means there’ll never be an even playing field pic.twitter.com/U8hN2wJSAw
— Jess Davies (@_JessicaDavies) January 6, 2022
I wrote an entire 10,000 word dissertation on the Class Ceiling and why working class people struggle to progress. But everyone has the same 24 hours in a day and opportunities according to Molly Mae so how can there ever be a class ceiling? 😍😌🥰 😳😳 https://t.co/Y0IOFk1Tin
— Rhianna Murray (@rhiannamurray) January 6, 2022
No one:
— T💫 (@livelaughcryxo) January 6, 2022
Molly mae: pic.twitter.com/OIOtJ7QGv4
I dare Molly Mae to tell some of the UK’s lowest paid workers that they’re less hard working that someone who takes Instagram photos for a living.
— Miriam Mirwitch (@miriammirwitch) January 6, 2022
Hustle culture and the effects of pretty privilege are exhausting. https://t.co/C2BCkC1Zg5
oh yes, because those brought up in wealth are never given more opportunities than those who grew up on the breadline! molly mae is honestly deluded lmfao https://t.co/pe3QVbgL3t
— Kirst ❤️🔥 (@kirst_t1609) January 6, 2022
Molly Mae's going to design a special line of bootstraps for everyone to pull themselves up by
— Rebecca (@rebtool) January 6, 2022
me realising I have the same 24 hours in the day as molly mae pic.twitter.com/oldpBKDEbq
— Joe Gilmore (@Gilology) January 6, 2022
— Jonny Sharples (@JonnyGabriel) January 6, 2022
Molly Mae watching everyone using their same 24 hours to drag her pic.twitter.com/F3EJ955Hak
— Tevin. (@OBSXSSION1) January 6, 2022
Molly Mae’s 24hrs My 24hrs pic.twitter.com/N6JMf2s9E4
— Joshuã (@jtok93) January 6, 2022
Being this shocked at a 12 hour shift and then going on a podcast to say “we all have the same 24 hours” is actually embarassing. https://t.co/ESDaIsLGNE
— 𝐚𝗺𝐲𝐣𝐚𝐝𝐞 (@amy_jadee) January 6, 2022
While others pointed out Hague signed a six-figure deal in August to become the UK and EU’s creative director for PrettyLittleThing, which is owned by Boohoo, was accused of paying workers in a Leicester factory as little as £3.50 per hour.
There were also claims of a lack of Covid safety regulation in place with no social distancing and failure to give staff PPE in the midst of the pandemic, an investigation by The Sunday Times uncovered.
In response, Boohoo said in a statement: “As a board, we are shocked and appalled by the recent allegations that have been made” and added how they are “committed to doing everything in our power to rebuild the reputation of the textile manufacturing industry in Leicester.”
An independent review was launched into the retailer’s UK supply chain.
Many people pointed this factor out when criticising Hague’s comments on being able to achieve by putting the work in.
You know who works harder than Molly Mae and aren’t paid a fraction of what she earns?? The workers in the sweatshops of the company where she’s creative director
— 🐎 (@blowandpuff) January 6, 2022
Pretty Little Thing, (the company Molly Mae was originally paid £600k to be ‘creative director’ of), pays their garment workers in the UK £3.50 an hour. https://t.co/jIIgYtY4Gx
— 𝕃𝕖𝕒𝕙 (@leahlizzyy) January 6, 2022
Molly Mae got a 500k deal to be creative director of Pretty Little Thing. PLT is owned by Boohoo, which subcontracted to sweatshops where workers were paid £3.50 p/h. Perhaps those workers might express a different opinion on who has really ‘worked their ass off’ for her success. https://t.co/gtgtuUwtWI
— Callum Cant (@CallumCant1) January 6, 2022
imagine Molly Mae standing at the top of the stairs in one of her sweatshop PLT factories saying this to the workers that earn £3.50/ph 🥰🥰🥰 babe if u just 🥰🥰🥰 worked a bit harder 🥰🥰🥰 working those 24 hour shifts 🥰🥰🥰 you’d get to where I am 🥰🥰🥰 https://t.co/6ylhSoPPtg
— erin ❤️🔥 (@vanillaspitt) January 6, 2022
how can molly mae sit there and say we all have the same privileges when she is part of a company that pays £3.50 an hour
— amelia ♈︎ ♓︎ ♏︎ (@peacefr0g3) January 6, 2022
PLT workers Molly Mae:
— Dobby Club (@DobbyClub06) January 6, 2022
On £3.50
Per hour: pic.twitter.com/v0iUBwmd4x
me: *clocking out at work*
— richard (@RichardSmiiith) January 6, 2022
Molly Mae: pic.twitter.com/ZnJqXhXHLA
Being this shocked at a 12 hour shift and then going on a podcast to say “we all have the same 24 hours” is actually embarassing. https://t.co/ESDaIsLGNE
— 𝐚𝗺𝐲𝐣𝐚𝐝𝐞 (@amy_jadee) January 6, 2022
Fans of the influencer also couldn’t defend her comments either.
Ngl I like molly mae but if you’ve never been in poverty you’ll never know how hard getting out of poverty is, it’s an endless cycle. Yes life is what you make of it but it also helps when you don’t need to stress about what you or your family are having for dinner https://t.co/DpJS1B0OWU
— leah elizabeth (@leahxelizabeth_) January 6, 2022
i like molly mae but not everyone can pull themselves out of poverty and her saying that is very ignorant of her. yes we have the same 24 hrs but we don’t have the same opportunities offered to us in those 24 hours
— ً (@zarsyear) January 6, 2022
i like molly mae but a lot of the things she said in that podcast were so tone deaf
— geli (@skinnylilbih) January 6, 2022
This is so frustrating because I like Molly Mae but this is such a naive view of the world. She comes for a very privileged background and saying everyone has the same 24 hours a day to work to be successful is wrong. Sociology should be mandatory teaching. https://t.co/hFLptHE2F1
— Yes, I can hear you Clem Fandango (@blueisneversus2) January 6, 2022
I like Molly Mae but I think she needs to be educated on equality vs equity. Just cause we have the same 24 hours doesn’t mean that everyone has the same tools to succeed https://t.co/Er7vgXi21a
— izzz🧚🏽♀️ (@idzzzk) January 6, 2022
That molly mae video is so annoying cause I like her but it’s really feeding into the rich person detached from reality trope
— anna (@sweetinyomemory) January 6, 2022
I used to rate Molly Mae but she’s so tone deaf it’s disgusting.
— Mr Grubworks (@Nath_S__) January 6, 2022
She grew up with two police officer parents lol. Try telling this to someone who’s disabled or who’s parents chose drugs over them or didn’t get to even eat a meal everyday unless they were at school https://t.co/c3sbS3g7Uk
In a statement given to indy100, a spokesperson for Hague said:
“Molly did a podcast interview in December about her own rise to success. If you listen to the full conversation and interview Molly was asked about how the nature of her potential grows and how she believes in herself. This part of the interview was discussing time efficiency relating to success.
“Molly refers to a quote which says ‘We all have the same 24 hours in a day as Beyonce’. She was discussing her own experience and how she can resonate with this specific quote. Her opinion on if you want something enough you can work hard to achieve it is how she keeps determined with her own work to achieve more in her own life.
“Molly is not commenting on anyone else’s life or personal situation she can only speak of her own experience. She acknowledges that everyone is raised in different ways and from different backgrounds but her comments here are in reference to timing, hard work and determination in her own life.
“If you listen to this interview you can see the whole conversation was about her own personal circumstances, how she has grown up and this small clip in the conversation was talking about a quote that inspires her.
“Social media users have shared a short snippet from this interview with words such as “if you are homeless buy a house” and “if you are poor be poor” these are absolutely not Molly’s words, these are not Molly’s thoughts and this isn’t at all the meaning or thought behind that conversation.”
