What a McSnob! Fury over artist’s sneer at workmen in fast food queue
AN ARTIST was accused of being a ‘spoilt little rich girl’ after she posted a photo mocking three workmen queuing at McDonald’s.
Hetty Douglas, 25, added a comment to the online snap suggesting the trio had only ‘one GCSE between them’.
Within hours, the artist found herself at the centre of a social media storm and was described as ‘snobby’ by angry critics.
A scaffolder who featured in the image has now demanded an apology and said Miss Douglas was ‘no better than me because she can draw’. The artist – hailed by style bible Vogue as a ‘painter for the Instagram generation’ – posted the image on the photo sharing website and joked: ‘These guys look like they got one GCSE.’
But workman Warren Butt – one of
‘I’m just trying to earn a living’
the three men in the image – blasted: ‘It’s made us look like a load of idiots when we are just trying to crack on and do some work.’
The 40-year-old dad, who lives with his 13-year- old son in Wallington, South London, told Sun Online: ‘I would like an apology.
‘I do not think it’s right she can take a picture of us without us knowing and say that. I’m just working – just earning a living for me and my son.’ He added: ‘What gives her the right to look at me or us in that way? She’s no better than me because she can draw.’
Mr Butt, who said he had no GCSEs, was snapped at a McDonald’s in Piccadilly, central London. Miss Douglas later deleted her Twitter and Instagram accounts.
Among her critics was Louise Merry, who posted: ‘Hey Hetty Douglas, Alan Sugar has 1 GCSE. Richard Branson has 0. Maybe you should try reading instead of writing...’ Rhi Harper added: ‘You look like a spoiled rich girl gentrifying South London.’
Lizzie Long tweeted: ‘Hetty Douglas these are the guys who pay your Job Seeker’s [Allowance]. They’ve worked harder in one hour than you will ever do in your life.’ Douglas Unwin said: ‘When arrogant Hetty Douglas grows up, she’ll learn you don’t need GCSEs to attend the University of Life.’
A Twitter user added: ‘She epitomises the trend of middle class folk appropriating working class culture for their own aesthetic.’
‘You wouldn’t last two minutes in the shoes of a tradesman,’ added another critic on Instagram. Miss Douglas, whose mother is an artist, has previously told of how her aunt, cousin and brother all work in the arts. Originally from Nottingham, she moved to the capital to study at the University of the Arts and now lives in Peckham, south east London. Her artwork is said to ‘embed witty typography’ onto ‘ spontaneous splashes’ of vibrant colours. She says it represents ‘both the light and dark that comes with simply existing’.
Featuring in profiles by clothing brand Fred Perry, she has told of her fondness for ‘sick’ designer label Gucci. In 2015 the artist shared a picture of herself posing on the way to sign on for Job Seeker’s Allowance.
She told a website in July: ‘There’s no point in complaining about how tough and expensive London is because I choose to live here and I choose to juggle a million different things at once because I love it.’ She added: ‘If you want to say something, say it. I think as long as we are kind and gentle to others and, more importantly, ourselves then everything is bless.’