Why does the internet hate Molly Mae?

 

On the 13 of December businessman and new Dragons’ Den investor Steven Bartlett uploaded an almost two-hour podcast interview with former Love Islander and newly appointed creative director of Pretty Little Thing, Molly Mae Hague to his YouTube channel, The Diary of a CEO. The pair discuss Hague’s success, her ambitions and relationship with boxer Tommy Fury.

I, like the rest of the internet, have not watched the full interview but at the start of the year Molly’s comments became the centre of controversy. The social media influencer claimed that everybody has the same 24 hours in the day and so are then able, via hard work, to reach the same level of success that she has. Although she makes a brief mention to the different circumstances that mean we all don’t start on a level playing field, this wasn’t enough for most online who believe Molly failed to acknowledge the role that luck, like appearing on hit reality TV show Love Island and both her white and pretty privilege have on her successful social media career.

While I do agree with the general criticism that due to other factors, such as social and economic status that everyone isn’t able to use their day in the same way and therefore it is much more difficult for them to reach Molly Mae’s level of financial success, I don’t understand why Molly Mae’s backlash on this issue and many others is more severe than her peers on social media.

This podcast is one of tens on this channel by other affluent predominantly white entrepreneurs. I find it difficult to believe that none of them have shared the same mentality. The fact that the podcast was received well for the first month that it was out tells me Molly’s views are at least in line with other guest stars of the podcast and perhaps the thoughts of its audience. Bartlett himself has said on Twitter that male guests have shared the same rhetoric. But once Molly Mae’s critics got a hold of the sound bite it become a larger issue.

Seemingly even since Molly was on Love Island, the criticism on her has always been the harshest. Many believed that she was only on the summer reality show for money not for love. She has since admitted on the Dairy of The CEO podcast and her own YouTube channel she went on the show as a business move but was then fortunate enough to find love with Tommy. This isn’t a new idea for the show, fans have long speculated that contestants in the most recent seasons have only gone on to boost their social media following and pivot this into a new career. Amber Rose Gill, who was on the same season as Molly, recently said that she went on the show for fun and a free holiday, not romance.

Hague has also gotten criticism for being a brand ambassador for Pretty Little Thing, now taking on the role as a creative director, due to the bad working practices of the fashion company which includes them paying their workers significantly below the national minimum wage. Additionally, the company is a fast fashion brand whose practices are damaging to the environment. However Molly is one of hundreds if not thousands of social media stars that promote PLT and the other brands that it owns. A quick YouTube search will show you content creators of various sizes sharing excessive clothing hauls from the brand. Also celebrities like presenter Maya Jama and rapper Saweetie have made multiple collections with PLT but have not received the same push back as Molly Mae. The responsibility, anyway, shouldn’t be placed on any of the brand ambassadors instead it should be lauded to those who constantly make the decisions to under pay workers and use cheap materials in their clothing.

Sadly, there a multitude of controversies that Hague was been involved in since her rise to fame, ranging from the light-hearted criticism of her cooking to the larger debate about renting and buying property. However, many of her most recent scandals are no different to the actions of her socialite peers yet the reaction to Molly Mae is often much more adverse. Potentially the scepticism around Molly Mae since her appearance on Love Island has not been forgotten by social media users, causing all her missteps to be harshly spotlighted.

 Still, it seems that there is one set of rules for Molly Mae and another for everyone else. I don’t disagree that some of the twenty-two-year-old’s actions should be questioned but the social media influencer shouldn’t be constantly vilified while others do the same without repercussion.