The backlash over ‘greedy’ Holly
She ditches flagship brand at the last minute
Turn on your TV at any time and there’s a high chance you’ll see Holly Willoughby, whether that’s on This Morning and Celebrity Juice, or swishing her hair on Garnier adverts. Plus, she’ll soon be filling in for Ant Mcpartlin on I’m A Celeb.
But it seems something had to give, and when Hols announced last week that she’d be “stepping away” from Truly – a lifestyle venture that Holly created with business mogul Peter Jones and her sister Kelly – it was met with astonishment. Because Holly was more than the face of the brand – which will sell homeware and fashion – she was the brand, and had been gushing about it for months. She’d also just done a photo shoot, sharing pics on her Instagram only a month ago. Now, her image has been removed from the website and it’s unclear when the brand will launch.
Holly’s statement read, “After much consideration, I have made the decision to step away from Truly. To launch a brand needs total dedication and… with so many other commitments, this is not something I feel I can do without it starting to affect my family time at home.”
But as the statement coincided with the launch of M&S’ “Holly’s Must-haves” collection the next day, some fans weren’t buying her reason for quitting. “Basically she got offered more money to do something else,” one online commenter proclaimed. Another posted, “Not enough time for Truly because that meant real work, rather than turning up for a three hour shoot for M&S followed by a very quick thick pay check.”
Some felt the star was betraying her fans. One wrote, “What about people like me who followed her ‘Truly’, but now it seems she hasn’t been ‘true’ with us?” Another speculated, “Strange considering all the promotion she’s been giving it on social media. She’s besties with Peter Jones who was also involved. Have they had a falling out I wonder?” Mysterious…