Maura Higgins Defends Molly Mae Over 'Tone Deaf' Comments On Inequality
Molly-Mae found herself in hot water on social media.
Love Island star Maura Higgins has leapt to the defence of close pal Molly-Mae Hague, after she was criticised for making “tone deaf” remarks about inequality.
The influencer, 22, went viral earlier this week after comments she made on the Diary of A CEO podcast resurfaced online.
You can watch the video here.
Molly Mae was recently appointed creative director of clothing brand PrettyLittleThing, in a deal said to be worth £500,000.
When quizzed about her success, the Love Island runner-up said that we all have the “same 24 hours in a day as Beyoncé”, adding: “I understand we all have different backgrounds and we’re all raised in different ways, and we do have different financial situations, but I think if you want something enough you can achieve it.
“It just depends what lengths you want to go to get to where you want to be in the future – and I’ll go to any length.”
People were quick to hit back at Molly-Mae, saying she failed to acknowledge her privileged upbringing, or her stratospheric rise to fame thanks to Love Island.
Taking to Twitter, one person wrote: "It’s so obvious she has never once stopped to consider her privilege...v tone deaf."
"Molly Mae REALLY needs to check her privilege and educate herself before speaking on a topic like that again," added another. "The audacity to say 'I’ve been slammed for talking on this before' yet speaking on it again, with no further knowledge and saying such tone deaf and incorrect things?"
Shaughna Phillips, who appeared on the sixth series of Love Island in 2020, was quick to interject on Molly’s controversial comments.
“Molly Mae is young, who’s had a lot of success really quickly, and not a lot of 'life,’” she wrote on Twitter.
“So I can understand why she holds those views. We all say things when we’re younger and look back and think: ‘Well that was stupid,’ lol. No shade, I wanna live in her bubble.”
However, Maura, 31, saw Shaughna’s commentary as a slight towards her BFF.
“Surely you know as someone in this industry how lonely and scary it can be when the whole internet is slamming you,” she said.
“You’re entitled to your opinion yes but I’m really surprised you commenting on this at all.”
Shaughna responded: “100 per cent! That’s why I tweeted this in her defence.
“She’s young and successful, it’s not her fault she has those views. Like I said, no shade, just jel lol.”
Molly-Mae has enjoyed huge success after leaving Love Island in 2019, earning herself a number of brand deals.
Boasting 6.3 million Instagram followers, Molly-Mae has recently jetted off to New York with boyfriend Tommy Fury for a holiday.
When contacted by Tyla, a representative for Molly-Mae said: "Molly did a podcast interview in December about her own rise to success. If you listen to the full conversation and interview Molly was asked about how the nature of her potential grows and how she believes in herself.
"This part of the interview was discussing time efficiency relating to success. Molly refers to a quote which says 'We all have the same 24 hours in a day as Beyonce.' She was discussing her own experience and how she can resonate with this specific quote.
"Her opinion on if you want something enough you can work hard to achieve it is how she keeps determined with her own work to achieve more in her own life.
"Molly is not commenting on anyone else’s life or personal situation she can only speak of her own experience. She acknowledges that everyone is raised in different ways and from different backgrounds but her comments here are in reference to timing, hard work and determination in her own life. If you listen to this interview you can see the whole conversation was about her own personal circumstances, how she has grown up and this small clip in the conversation was talking about a quote that inspires her.
"Social media users have shared a short snippet from this interview with words such as 'if you are homeless buy a house' and 'if you are poor be poor'. These are absolutely not Molly’s words, these are not Molly’s thoughts and this isn’t at all the meaning or thought behind that conversation."
Featured Image Credit: Instagram - MauraHigginsTopics: Molly Mae Hague, Love Island, Celebrity
Kimberley Bond