Time to remind you of what Molly-Mae Hague, reality TV star and now creative director of fast fashion brand PrettyLittleThing (PLT) once infamously said:
“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.”
And shortly after fellow reality star and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian said this: “I have the best advice for women in business: Get your f**king ass up and work. It seems like nobody wants to work these days.”
These statements are are tone deaf and out of touch. Both these women ignore the benefits provided by their own background, race, and economic situation, while shaming those less successful than them.
Both Molly-Mae and Kim were born with automatic privilege: wealthy, able bodied, and with enormous familial support. Their comments shine a light into that bubble of privilege that they live in, and show they have no awareness of or care for those from other backgrounds or situations.
With 37.2 million people in the US alone living below the poverty line, these attitude are dangerous generalisations made from a position of enormous influence.
Considering that Molly-Mae’s brand pays its factory workers in Pakistan 29p an hour and has been accused of modern slavery, she should really reconsider her approach to inspirational spiels about how people should spend their 24 hours in a day – especially given she’s on a £4.8m salary.
She was technically correct in saying we all have 24 hours in a day, I’ll give her that. But apart from its scientific accuracy, very little thought or consideration has been put into this statement. Molly-Mae has taken the internet saying “girl boss, gaslight, gatekeep” slightly too seriously.
The same goes for Kim. The idea that lack of success can only be a result of not wanting to work is blatantly wrong. What about the disabled, the underprivileged, or people of color who automatically have to deal with more adversity?
Blessed with fame and power, these women have the opportunity to uplift and encourage other women. Instead they want to tear them down, and will now be victim to the power of cancel culture.
Time to hire new PR teams!