Molly-Mae Hague finally acknowledged the backlash she received following her appearance on Steven Bartlett’s podcast, Diary of a CEO. The former Love Island contestant and creative director of Pretty Little Thing was a guest on the podcast back in December. She talked with Bartlett about her success as an influencer and her appearance on Love Island but failed to acknowledge the privilege that she benefited from as a result.
One comment in particular was picked up by listeners, where Hague said that everyone had the same 24 hours in their day. While this is factually true, most people understand that there’s a lot more to it than that. Users on Twitter were quick to hold Hague accountable, explaining that even if she didn’t totally understand what she was saying at the time or that “she’s only 22” (as some users defended her with), it was an unnecessary comment rooted in privilege.
On 10 Jan., after an understandable break from social media, Hague shared an Instagram story somewhat acknowledging her poor choice of words. “I wanted to come back online today as normal but I feel like before I do, I just wanted to say this… When I say or post anything online, it is never with malice or ill intent,” Hague began. “I completely appreciate that things can affect different people in different ways, however I just want to stress that I would never intend to hurt or upset anyone by anything that I say or do.”
She continued to say that “I apologise to the people that been affected negatively or misunderstood the meaning of what I said in the podcast, the intentions of the podcast were only ever to tell my story and inspire from my own experience.”
Hague still hasn’t fully acknowledged or admitted that privilege plays a part in her life or her success, as a white woman who was able to make money from a reality TV show (one that required an already established base of online followers and reach). For many listeners of the podcast though, it’s clear that Hague isn’t solely responsible for our society’s wider inequality problem and simply needs to ensure that her words take that problem into account in future.
