Molly-Mae Hague has issued an apology after her comments about everyone having the “same 24 hours a day” sparked fierce backlash online.
The Creative Director of Manchester-based fashion brand PrettyLittleThing posted a statement on Instagram on Monday (January 10) after experiencing several days’ of criticism for remarks she made on Steven Bartlett’sDiary of a CEO podcast.
During her appearance on the show – which offers a platform for entrepreneurs to tell their success stories – Hague doubled-down on her previous comment that everyone has the “same 24 hours in a day” to find success.
Hague 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.’
“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 what lengths you want to go to get where you want to be in the future.”
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Hague made the comments on a podcast show with Steven Bartlett in December 2021 / Image: YouTube
Hague’s comments spawned multiple think pieces across media outlets and ignited debates around influencer culture, class divides and privilege.
Many rushed to condemn her comments as tone-deaf, whilst Bartlett – a Dragon’s Den investor who found success in Manchester with his Social Chain agency – defended Hague, claiming the criticism was reflective of “double standards that successful women face”.
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Bartlett said: “I’ve had male guests say what she said. No one cared. But when Molly says it, she’s crucified? Crazy.
“Gender issues aside, the standard we hold Molly Mae to as a 22 year-old that’s figuring out the world is absolutely outrageous.”
Hague’s representatives also published a statement saying her words had been taken out of context.
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This week, the former Love Island contestant spoke out herself via social media.
Hague’s statement on Instagram / Image: Molly-Mae Hague/Instagram
Her statement, written on Instagram, reads: “I wanted to come back online today as normal but I feel like before I do I just wanted to say this…
“When I say or post anything online, it is never with malice or ill intent. I completely appreciate that things can affect different people in different ways however I just want to stress that I would never intend to hurt or upset anyone by anything that I say or do.
“I apologise to the people that have been affected negatively or misunderstood the meaning of what I said in the podcast, the intentions of the podcast were only ever to tell my story and inspire from my own experience.
“Love to you all, always”.
Featured image: Diary of a CEO/YouTube
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Eurovision costumes, props and instruments are being auctioned off – and it’s a mad collection
Daisy Jackson
Items from this year’s Eurovision Song Contest are being sold at auction this week, from iconic costumes to enormous props.
It means that fans of the massive event – this year held in Liverpool – will be able to snap up a permanent piece of Eurovision history.
Have you ever looked around your living room and thought ‘You know what this place really needs? Those giant purple hands that Kalush Orchestra danced on this year’?
Or ‘I hate this jumper. I wish a had a green one with a face on like those Daði Freyr Eurovision dancers’?
Or even ‘A set of fluffy pink and yellow heart-shaped cushions would really brighten the place up’?
Well now there’s an auction you might be interested in, with bids opening from just £5.
The original props, costumes, and even instruments are on sale now, until 11 June.
Kalush Orchestra’s hands are in the Eurovision auctionThe Daði Freyr jumpersCredit: BBC
You could be turning the actual lectern thing that Graham Norton and Hannah Waddingham stood behind for the results show into a cool bar, or decorating your pad with the drums used in Sam Ryder’s powerful performance.
The top bids currently, just a few days after the auction started, stand at £500 – that’s for the presenter’s lectern and for the Daði Freyr jumpers.
Someone else has bid a whopping £250 for a set of fluffy cushions.
There are more than 60 items available to buy, including parts of the set, which were designed by Julio Himede and unveiled by the King and Queen.
The BBC has reported that 20% of the money raised will go to two different charities, split between ACC Liverpool Foundation and BBC Media Action, with the remaining 80% going back to BBC Studios to fund programmes and services.
Sally Mills, head of sustainability at BBC Studios said: “Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do, both on and off screen.
“We have a responsibility to operate with as minimal an impact on the environment as possible, and are always looking for innovative ways in which to further engage audiences with our content, and extend the life of our sets and costumes.
“What better way to do this than to give fans the opportunity to own a piece of Eurovision history?”
Derbyshire woman sent floods of cards for 108th birthday after care home appeal
Emily Sergeant
A woman from Derbyshire has received floods of cards after her care home put out an appeal to celebrate her landmark birthday.
Ada Daniel is hitting a milestone that not many get to reach today – her 108th birthday.
Born in the picturesque Derbyshire village of Ambergate all the way back in 1915, and living in the nearby town of Ripley with her beloved pet Greyhounds for most of her life, Mrs Daniel had a successful career working at Belper Mill for 27 years before her retirement.
And also before going on to become, what Oldest in Britain has confirmed, is currently the 65th oldest person in the UK.
Mrs Daniel has lived at Codnor Park Care Home since 2015 now, and it was the staff at this Derbyshire care home who decided to put out an appeal on social media asking that kind members of the public send birthday cards.
They hoped to get 108 cards to celebrate her 108th birthday.
This isn’t the first time staff at the care home have put out a public appeal for cards, as they did the same for Mrs Daniel’s 105th birthday during lockdown back in 2020, and received that number and more.
And according to the home, this time has proved just as successful as the last, the BBC reports.
“Ada hasn’t got a lot of family left,” explained Kelly Goucher, who is the activity coordinator at Ashmere Derbyshire – the company that runs the care home.
Ada Daniel is celebrating her 108th birthday today / Credit: Supplied | Ashmere Derbyshire
“She never had any children, so she doesn’t have any grandchildren, so we just wanted to get her as many cards as possible… [and] I woke up to 135 messages the following morning of people wanting to send cards.”
Ms Goucher described Mrs Daniel as “a character” at the care home, and when asked what her secret to a long life was one time, she said it was “to have dogs, not kids.”