Influencer Molly-Mae Hague has been criticised over comments she made on wealth and poverty during a podcast released last month.
The Love Island star, 22, sparked fury on social media after a clip resurfaced in which she claimed that “we all have the same 24 hours of the day” regardless of background.
Ms Hague has shot to fame in the past few years after appearing on the hit ITV show in 2019. Last year, she was made creative director of popular fashion brand Pretty Little Thing.
Her comments were branded “tone deaf” by Twitter users on Thursday, who accused her of ignoring the difficulties faced by people from poorer backgrounds.
“You’re given one life and it’s down to you what you do with it,” she told the Diary of a CEO podcast. “You can literally go in any direction.
“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, you’ve not grown in poverty, you’ve not grown up with major money struggles, so for you to sit there and say that we all have the same 24 hours in a day, it’s not correct.
“And I’m like, but technically what I’m saying is correct. We do. So I understand that we all have different backgrounds and we’re all raised in different ways and we do have different financial situations, but I do think if you want something enough, you can achieve it.”
She added: “It just depends to what lengths you want to go to get where you want to be in the future.
“And I’ll go to any lengths. I’ve worked my absolute a*** off to get where I am now.”
Jess Davies, a BBC presenter and podcaster, said that Ms Hague had ignored the difficulties people faced in life based on their race, gender, sexuality and social class.
She tweeted: “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.
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“Race, Health, Gender, Social class, Sexuality, Mental Health, Disability- the list goes on. Society is not designed to give everyone equal opportunity and this is unfortunately just tone deaf straight out of a Girl Boss meme.”
Ms Hague and her boyfriend Tommy Fury reportedly moved into a high-security new home last month after a devastating burglary on their luxury Manchester apartment.
The Standard has contacted Ms Hague’s representatives for comment.
Molly-Mae Hague - In pictures
