Love Island star Molly Mae, who was already an influencer before she entered the villa for the ITV dating show, has come under fire for her comments on a YouTube channel.
Speaking on Steven Barlett’s Diary of a CEO show, Mae explained how she became creative director of clothing brand PrettyLittleThing.
The 22-year-old, who is one of the UK’s most followed people on Instagram, was quizzed on several aspects of her life, including her relationship with Tommy Fury – the contestant she left the Love Island villa with, who she’s been seeing since. She also opened up about a recent burglary which saw the theft of prized items.
But the part which ruffled many feathers included a segment on hustle culture and entrepreneurship.
Citing the popular adage that ‘Beyonce has the same 24 hours as us’ as a motivator to just get things done, Mae told Barlett: “You have one life, it’s up to you what you do with it...I’ve worked my absolute arse off to get where I am today.”
Mae explained how she has had criticisms levelled at her in the past regarding this attitude, but doubled down saying: “Technically, that is correct, we do have the same 24 hours in a day.
“We do all come back from different backgrounds and financial situations, but if you want something enough, you can achieve it.”
The comments hit a nerve, though, as many pointed out that while we do in fact have the same amount of hours in a day, our opportunities, socio-economic background and general positions in life vary to Mae, a millionaire.
Many pointed out on Twitter the myths of meritocracy that Mae seemed to be championing – showing that the playing field isn’t level for all.
Others questioned her role as creative director of PLT – a brand regularly criticised for its fast fashion – asking whether they could simply achieve their dreams by working as hard as her.
And many, many more simply pointed out how ridiculous the whole “we all have the same hours in the day” idea is.
Sorry Molly Mae, this was not the inspirational talk we needed.