Love Island Molly-Mae Hague has found herself in a bit of hot water lately. As the Independent noted, Hague, who starred in Season 5 of Love Island UK, recently took part in an interview during which she discussed her career. However, her comments on success and privilege aren’t sitting right with many social media users. In fact, Hague soon sparked a ton of backlash with many criticizing the star for not recognizing the role that privilege played in her own success.ย
During the interview with The Diary of a CEO, Hague, an influencer with millions of followers and creative director of the fashion brand PrettyLittleThing, expressed that her determination to succeed brought her to where she is today. She said, “I just think you’re given one life and it’s down to you what you do with it. You can literally go in any direction.” The Love Island alum addressed how she’s gotten “slammed” for this topic before, saying that people have told her, “‘It’s easy for you to say that, you’ve not grown up in poverty, you’ve not grown up with major money struggles. So for you to sit there and say we all have the same 24 hours in a day is not correct.’”
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“But technically what I’m saying is correct โ we do,” she continued. Hague did acknowledge that “different backgrounds” can play into one’s success, but noted that anyone can achieve their goals if they put their mind to it. Of course, this advice didn’t exactly sit well with many users on Twitter, who criticized her particularly for her comments tied to privilege.ย
Yikes
Many especially took Hague to task for saying that everyone has the same 24 hours in a day and can achieve success. They don’t exactly agree.ย
Acknowledging The Differences
Others took to Twitter to acknowledge just how much a person’s individual background and privilege can play into their success. It takes more than one’s determination.ย
Getting Critical
Clearly, Twitter users wasted no time in criticizing Hague for her recent comments. Someย didn’t appreciate that she didn’t acknowledge other factors that contribute to how successful one can be.
In Her Defense
Even though Hague drew a ton of backlash for the interview, there were some who did come to her defense. They don’t agree with the amount of criticism that she’s been receiving online.ย
Tone Deaf
“What Molly-Mae said is absolutely true, anyone can be wherever they like, they just need to be determined enough to achieve it,” another user pointed out. “The only thing she failed to acknowledge is that equal opportunity doesn’t exist โ in an ideal world everyone should have a fair start.”
Weighing In
“The problem with privilege is that the privileged are completely blind to how good they have it, and how much easier their road to success is,” this Twitter user wrote. “I don’t doubt that Molly-Mae has worked hard, but the door was opened for her โ she didn’t have to break it down. It’s just ignorance.”
Cue The Memes
Not everyone is thrilled by the amount of backlash that Hague has been receiving. As this user put it, “Is it just me that thinks it’s not that deep what Molly-Mae said? The 24 hour memes are funny but the genuine hate she’s getting just comes from people who are jealous and spiteful.”