The line between what's okay and what's not in the realm of Instagram promotion and #sponsored content has been a little blurry for quite a while now. Influencers at the top of their game posting advertorial images is nothing new, but when those posts involve sharing photos of young children to monetize your account, mums are particularly divided. After accusations of using her kids to do just that, Insta-famous midwife Clemmie Hooper has deleted her account.
In a Mumsnet thread called Influencer ethics on Instagram, the 33-year-old mum of four was accused of using her @mother_of_daughters Instagram account to post 'ethically dubious' pictures of her children for advertising, reports The Telegraph.
Posting under the username 'anyalovesrose', Clemmie defended the use of her account and explained to the other forum users that: 'I don't feel I "sell" my children to make money, I actually hardly ever feature the older girls and have changed my approach when working with brands eg I won't feature a picture of my children alone for an AD and I always ask "do they need to be in the post at all?"'
She also said that she shows her daughters the images before she posts them and they give consent to the pictures that they feature in. This was met with further backlash from some users who expressed that it was 'morally wrong', and that 'selling children doesn't just mean using them in an ad. It's also using them as content to the extent that it brings in £'.
It's a conversation that many Instagram users have been having for a while and evidently the boundaries, if not clear, certainly aren't universally agreed on. Clemmie's husband Simon, who also documents his family life on a similarly branded Instagram account @father_of_daughters that boasts almost double Clemmie's old Instagram following with 845K and counting, once posted a picture of one of their daughters on a potty - an image that Clemmie said in another Mumsnet post that she 'wasn't happy with him posting I felt it crossed the line'. However, when asked why she didn't ask her husband to take the picture down, Clemmie explained: 'The reason felt it wasn’t wise to have it taken down was I felt it would only anger people and fuel more threads so I remained silent and never mentioned it until now.'
It's unclear whether Clemmie's Instagram account will stay deactivated or whether she's made the decision to take a break amid the heated conversations around her account, however in one of her later posts on the Mumsnet thread last week, she gave some insight into how and why she uses her Instagram the way she does, and why for her it's not just about the money.
She wrote: 'I can see how you’d think I only blag about my ‘wealth’ and use my kids to make money but I would like to point out that neither myself or my husband make huge wads of cash, if we did he wouldn’t still work full time as a management consultant. I also am fully committed to my job as an NHS midwife I adore being a midwife, it’s a selfless but entirely rewarding job and I have lots of plans to expand this and use my knowledge and platform to talk more about midwifery, as per my blog.'
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20 celebrities reveal their rather unusual pregnancy cravings
Celebrity pregnancy cravings
1 of 20Holly Willoughby
One of the nations favourite television presenters, Holly Willoughby has spoken openly about her pregnancies several times but when speaking about her pregnancy cravings one thing is always clear, she loves a sweet treat. Speaking to Asda’s Good Living magazine she said:
“My sweet tooth was out of control. Harry was made of cupcakes and with Belle, it was worse. I’d just eat the buttercream, chuck the sponge and get another one!”
2 of 20Fearne Cotton
Fearne Cotton is now known for her ultra-healthy lifestyle and diet but when asked about her pregnancy cravings by Closer back in 2015, Fearne kept her answer short and sweet saying: ‘Lots of carbs. Plenty of bread!’
3 of 20Stacey Solomon
Former X-Factor star turned television presenter, Stacey Solomon, revealed that her pregnancy craving was pickles. Recalling her second pregnancy she said: “I drove to a McDonalds drive through and ordered a cup of pickles. Literally, I had a McDonalds cup filled just with pickles.”
4 of 20Binky Felstead
Made In Chelsea’s very own yummy mummy, Binky Felstead welcomed her first child with co-star and boyfriend, Josh Patterson in June of last year. During her pregnancy she revealed she revealed all things ‘naughty’, the health conscious star told OK!: ‘Lot’s of carbs! I can’t get enough of pizza, burgers, fish and chips – anything naughty!’
5 of 20Rochelle Humes
The Saturdays singer and wife to JLS band member, Marvin Humes, is now a mum of two, but whilst pregnant with her second daughter she kept all her fans up to date through Instagram. She posted a picture of her lunch captioned: “Finished my voiceover, on way to a shoot. Stopped to grab lunch, the lady looked at me VERY strangely when I made my order.
Lots of jalepenos, capers, chilli and cheese in this salad. OH and three different dressings #cravings”
6 of 20Frankie Bridge
Another member of girl band, The Saturdays, Frankie Bridge now has two children with husband and footballer, Wayne Bridge. Whilst she has never spoken about pregnancy cravings specifically she did admit in during her first pregnancy she missed alcohol. Speaking to BANG Showbiz in 2013 she admitted: "I've never been a massive drinker, but now I am not allowed I am like, 'Oh, I kind of want one."
7 of 20Emma Willis
Television presenter and wife to Busted band member Matt Willis, Emma Willis admitted that during her pregnancy she only craved one thing, oranges, although she did say she ate a lot of sugar during her pregnancy. “The only food I crave is oranges, although I have to take folic acid supplements to balance out all the sugar I eat. Biscuits, chocolate, cakes and sugar are what I can’t get enough of.”
8 of 20Billie Faiers
Towie star, Billie Faiers always looks stylish and this was no exception during her pregnancies. In a video posted on her snapchat during her second pregnancy, she revealed her craving at that point was Marks and Spencer Dutch shortcake biscuits. This didn’t appear to be her only craving as she also posted a photo online with the caption: “Can't get enough of these at the moment...#cravings #pickledonions.”
9 of 20Sam Faiers
Younger sister to Billie Faiers and fellow Towie star, Sam Faiers told OK! magazine she gained ‘just under a stone’ during her pregnancy. She went onto explain: ‘I’ve not been strict with myself, I’ve just been eating healthy and mixing it up with the desserts I fancy.’
10 of 20Kim Kardashian West
Reality star, business woman and mum of three, Kim Kardashian West, revealed to E! News that through-out her first two pregnancies all she wanted was cheese. “Mostly cheese, chili cheese fries, everything with cheese,”
11 of 20Chrissy Teigen
Chrissy Teigen is a model with an appetite, regularly posting pictures of her latest culinary creation, she even has her own cookbook! With this in mind it comes with no surprise that she has some unique cravings, including burritos! “This burrito is so big I’m using it as a table for my fish taco,” Her husband, John Legend, also revealed she has a sweeter tooth when pregnant.
12 of 20Blake Lively
Actress and mother of two, Blake Lively, is a rather private woman but an insider told Cosmopolitan all about her weird pregnancy craving! The insider said she would send husband Ryan Reynolds "out in the middle of the night for organic hand-churned pumpkin-flavored ice cream and small-batch pickles."
13 of 20Emma Bunton
Spice Girl, Emma Bunton, AKA Baby Spice, had the worst kind of craving, a craving for something you know you can’t have. When pregnant with her second child she tweeted "Got a craving for sushi and I can't have it!!!!!!!"
14 of 20Victoria Beckham
Another member of the Spice Girls, Victoria Beckham, had a very stereotypically British craving, an insider revealed: "Victoria's having a lot of tea and toast with lashings of marmalade. She can't get enough of the stuff."
15 of 20Amy Adams
Hollywood actress, Amy Adams, says she didn’t need a pregnancy test to tell her she was expecting. She revealed how her cravings clued her in to being pregnant when she saw a carton of almond milk in her fridge, which she’d never tasted, and drank the entire carton in 10 minutes.
16 of 20Kylie Jenner
Reality star, makeup mogul and youngest of the Kardashian/Jenner clan, Kylie Jenner kept her pregnancy a secret until a month and a half after giving birth to baby Stormi. After she announced her daughter’s birth she took to twitter to talk about her pregnancy tweeting “Eggos!!! I never liked them before I was pregnant & haven’t had one since I had her. so strange! Lol” She also replied to a fan calling her out on her In-and-Out trips, “Lmao and in n out!! Donuts too”
17 of 20Jennifer Connelly
When morning sickness hits the last thing most people would want to do is eat but not actress Jennifer Connelly. Jennifer told David Letterman on The Late Show, that she dealt with the nausea she had with her third pregnancy by eating pretzels dipped in cream cheese!
18 of 20Angelina Jolie
Actress and super mum of six Angelina Jolie revealed that when pregnant with her twins she craved onion rings covered in mustard. She also revealed that go to cravings whilst in LA were In-and-Out burgers with a side of fries dipped in milkshake!
19 of 20Kourtney Kardashian
The oldest of the Kardashian/Jenner sisters and mum of three, Kourtney Kardashian, is known for her healthy approach to life. The star has a very specific diet but told E! News, "I develop a thing for Nilla Wafer cookies every time [I'm pregnant]. I have no idea why! I've also been into cheese and pickle sandwiches. Everyone thinks I'm gross when I order them."
20 of 20Pink
Most people develop a sweeter tooth than usual when pregnant but not Pink. The singer and mother to daughter Willow told Access Hollywood she craved “Sour Patch Kids, or Sour Skittles, sour anything,"
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