Molly-Mae Hague has spoken out to defend her controversial comments made on a recent podcast appearance after she was branded a ‘Thatcherite’ and criticised on social media for being “tone-deaf”.
The ex-Love Island star and influencer – who has millions of followers on social media – has come under fire in recent days after comments she made about privilege, poverty, and hard work during an appearance on ‘The Diary of a CEO’ podcast, which is hosted by businessman and entrepreneur, Steven Bartlett, who is most-known for being the co-founder of Manchester-based company Social Chain, and for being the newest Dragon on BBC’s Dragon’s Den.
Hague – who was most-recently appointed the Creative Director of Manchester-based fast fashion brand PrettyLittleThing at just 22-years-old, and is reportedly paid £500,000 a year for her role – emphasised on the podcast that “we all have the same 24-hours”.
“You’re given one life, and it’s down to you what you do with it,” she said.
“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 up in poverty, you’ve not grown up with major money struggles.’
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“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 – it just depends to what lengths you want to go to get where you want to be in the future.
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“And I’ll go to any lengths. I’ve worked my absolute a*** off to get where I am now.”
Molly-Mae Hague has spoken out to defend controversial comments made on a recent podcast appearance / Credit: Instagram (@mollymae)
Hague’s comments have since generated much critique and conversation on social media.
While many people simply appeared to label her “tone-deaf” and brand her views as “gross”, other social media users took one step further and turned to calling a “Thatcherite” following, with one notably even calling her “Thatcher with a fake tan”.
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Away from social media, users of Wikipedia edited Hague’s entry to name her “Molly-Mae Thatcher”, changing part of her entry to say she is best known “for having worked harder than anyone less successful than her”.
Now, official representatives of Hague have exclusively revealed in a statement to The Metro today the star acknowledges “everyone is from different backgrounds”, but that her comments were about “time efficiency relating to success’ as well as ‘hard work and determination in her own life”.
The excerpt from statement read: “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.
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“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.”
The statement continues: “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.
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“These are not Molly’s thoughts, and this isn’t at all the meaning or thought behind that conversation.”
Podcast host Steven Bartlett has also this morning released a statement regarding the matter.
I've become very aware of the double standard that successful women face.
If I Interview a man, he can brag about money, take full credit for his success and talk about his cars?
If I interview a successful women, she's got to tip toe around her success and watch her words?
Taking to Twitter to share his thoughts, Bartlett said: “Molly-Mae did an interview on my podcast, yesterday a soundbite from that interview went viral, she trended No.1 on Twitter, every newspaper covered it and MP’s weighed in.
“I’ve had male guests say what she said. No one cared. But when Molly says it, she’s crucified? Crazy.
“I’ve become very aware of the double standard that successful women face.
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“If I Interview a man, he can brag about money, take full credit for his success and talk about his cars? If I interview a successful women, she’s got to tip toe around her success and watch her words?”
Colourful Simpsons-themed cafes pop up inside Manchester’s Primark stores
Emily Sergeant
Cafes inside Primark stores across the UK are being transformed into The Simpsons-themed foodie hubs for a limited time only.
You may remember that Grinch-themed cafes popped up inside Primark on Market Street in Manchester city centre, as well as Primark in Trafford Palazzo during December, which were a hit with fans of the furry green character – with everything from green waffles and themed milkshakes, to festive toasties, hot drinks, and more on the menu.
A new life inspired by the legendary animated sitcom, The Simpsons, that is.
Colourful Simpsons-themed cafes have popped up inside Manchester’s Primark stores / Credit: The Manc Group & Supplied
Get ready to step into Springfield, as from now right through until the beginning of May, Primark shoppers can get their D’oh-nut fix and much more, with each cafe kitted out with Simpsons-themed menus and decor.
The special themed menu includes a wide selection of waffles and toasties, and also plenty of drinks and shakes to choose from, including an indulgent Chocolate Marshmallow Hot Chocolate, and a scrumptious Strawberry Doughnut Shake.
Prices start at £4.25 for drinks, and £5.50 for food items.
The menu is filled will themed delights inspired by the beloved animated sitcom / Credit: The Manc Group
“We’re serving up a slice of Springfield with our latest cafe theme, giving fans a taste of The Simpsons right in our stores,” explained Tim Kelly, who is the Director of New Business Development at Primark, as the cafes opened across the UK last week.
“We’re always looking for new ways to create fun and memorable experiences for our customers and our themed cafes have been a big hit, so we can’t wait to see everyone’s reaction in store.”
The Primark Café with The Simpsons is now open in Primark’s Manchester Market Street, and Manchester Trafford stores, as well as in Birmingham, Belfast, Braehead, Edinburgh, and Cardiff until the beginning of May.
Featured Image – Supplied
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Tyson Fury has announced his ‘retirement’ from boxing (again) along with a cryptic message
Danny Jones
Manchester boxer Tyson Fury has seemingly confirmed he is retiring from boxing once again for the third time?… We’re not even sure at this point.
The Wythenshawe-born juggernaut of the heavyweight division lost consecutive fights for the first time in his career following the defeat in a rematch against Oleksandr Usyk back in December 2024 and, for all intents and purposes, it looks like they may have been his final professional fight.
Having first argued that the judges favoured Usyk in the first fight due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine; Fury once again believed the decision was unfair in the second bout but, either way, he claims that the Riyadh Season showdown was his last appearance in the ring.
Taking to social media on Monday, 13 January, the 36-year-old said he wanted to keep the announcement “short and sweet”, proceeding to announce his retirement from boxing to nearly seven million followers on Instagram along with a somewhat cryptic message for them to take away with them.
If all is to be believed at this point, he seemed pretty positive and nonchalant about the whole thing. He proceeded to state that he’s “loved every single minute” of his career, adding “God bless, everybody and I’ll see you on the other side.”
There wasn’t too much to read into with his caption either, which simply read: “Thanks, it’s been a blast. Thanks to everyone who helped out along the way! Happy New Year. Jesus is king now and forever”.
However, it was the penultimate line with which he signed off that has raised an eyebrow among a lot of those reacting to the news online, as he referenced infamous highwayman and thief, Dick Turpin, who famously wore a mask to conceal his crimes during the 18th century. Interesting indeed.
People online have been speculating plenty around exactly what he might have meant with this mysterious remark but many that it could just be another nod towards the belief that he was ‘robbed’ of a victory in Fury vs Usyk 2, having claimed the latter was given an “early Christmas gift.”
Regardless, plenty are expecting it won’t be long before Fury comes back out of retirement to lace his gloves back the very second the right offer comes in for him to finally fight Anthony Joshua, even if both of them aren’t quite the dominant name they once were when the face-off was first floated.
Most crucially, the general consensus is that Tyson Fury isn’t really retiring because this, of course, isn’t the first time he’s claimed he was calling it a day.
‘The Gypsy King’ famously ‘retired’ for the first first time over a decade ago after the plans for his fight against David Haye fell apart for the second time back in 2013, making the announcement with nothing more than a few dismissive words on the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Then, in 2017, we did the dance all over again after a string of teases and ‘pranks’ towards the end of 2016 which culminated in him writing in a since-deleted post: “Been very blessed in my life & career achieve the utmost in boxing, was a epic journey along the way.
“Thanks to all the fans that supported & believed in me along the way. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. THE END.” But it obviously wasn’t the end…
He was back in the ring by 2018 and Fury went on to declare that his 2022 win over Dillian Whyte was his farewell fight before going on to fight Derek Chisora just six months later.
You can see how people have trouble believing that it’s for real, right?
Whether or not he is being serious this time, only time will tell but one thing is for sure is that fans would still love to see him and AJ come up against each other if a fight contract were to materialise after all this time – especially as they both have a point to prove given their recent respective records.
As for Fury, one clip that came back to haunt him in the wake of the rematch against Usyk will remain a lasting memory for many of those who have followed his career from the start to now:
Emily Sergeant -
7th January 2022 
