Nigel Farage has weighed in on the Molly-Mae Hague drama by posting a clip defending the former Love Island contestant’s remark that “we all have the same 24 hours”.
The former UKIP leader spoke out in defence of the influencer after she was criticised for her “tone deaf” comments about wealth and privilege.
In a clip posted to Thrillz, a platform where people can buy personalised messages from celebrities, Farage congratulated the 22-year-old Pretty Little Thing creative director, saying she “has done well”.
He continued: “Her comment that we all have the same 24 hours every day, what’s she saying?
“She’s saying that any of us - if we work hard, have a bit of luck, and have got ability, regardless of our backgrounds, regardless of who we are - can go out there in the world and succeed.
“It’s all about having dreams, having ambitions. Yeah sure, not everyone can make it. But for goodness sake, in criticising Molly-Mae you’re taking away people’s dreams. Don’t do that.”
He concluded the video by saying: “Molly-Mae is on the right track”.
Molly-Mae made the comments on Dragon’s Den investor Steven Bartlett’s podcast.
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 because you’ve not grown up in poverty, so for you to sit there and say we all have the same 24 hours in a day is not correct.’ But, technically, what I’m saying is correct. We do.”
Although she acknowledged that “we all have different backgrounds and we’re all raised in different ways and we do have different financial situations,” she believes “if you want something enough you can achieve it.”
Her comments sparked a frenzy of memes, and split opinion. Comedian Munya Chawawa even made a parody video about the row.
Bartlett himself weighed in on the Molly-Mae debacle, claiming there’s a “double standard” when it comes to how we view successful men and successful women.
I've become very aware of the double standard that successful women face.
— Steven Bartlett (@SteveBartlettSC) January 7, 2022
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?
A statement from Hague’s representatives, published in The Independent, doubled down on the comments.
A section of the statement read: “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.”
The statement continued: “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.”
