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.
If you're looking for the 2019 Clemmie Hooper drama, not the 2018 Instagram deletion furore, read more here:
Clemmie Hooper & Tattle Life
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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 deactivted 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.'
MORE: A Timeline Of Blake Lively's Gorgeous Maternity Style
Blake Lively Maternity Style grazia
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Red carpet fashion is Blake's strong suite, and this black and white dress by Carolina Herrera (complete with floral detailing and semi-sheer skirt) doesn't disappoint (June 2016)
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For 'The Shallows' after-party, Black chose an asymmetric look from David Koma's most recent collection, layering a cold-shoulder black body under a skirt with cut-out detail (June 2016)
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Another sartorial triumph for Blake, who stuck close to her winning maternity style formula of a form-fitting midi dress in a bold block colour (June 2016)
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For her red carpet 'princess' moment, Blake chose pale blue Louis Vuitton - and looked like she'd stepped straight out of a fairytale (May 2016)
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Denim jacket + embellished ball gown = surprisingly cool. Blake went full Noughties when promoting 'The Shallows' in New York, layering a Madewell jacket over a Jenny Packham dress (June 2016)
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Cinderella who? Blake chose another fairytale gown for the Cannes screening of The BFG, this time by Atelier Versace (May 2015)
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The pale peach shade of this heavily embellished Elie Saab gown compliments Blake's skin tone perfectly (June 2016)
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Teaming a grey hoodie with a feathered mini-dress and towering Louboutins is certainly unchartered style territory - a move worthy of Gossip Girl's Serena? (June 2016)
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Promoting her new film 'The Shallows' on 'The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,' Blake channelled this season's off-the-shoulder trend in a royal blue midi style from Cushnie Et Ochs, complete with crossover neckline and cut-out detailling (June 2016)
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Promoting 'The Shallows' at the Cannes Film Festival, Blake appeared to take inspiration from her role in the surfer horror flick, choosing a cut-out midi dress fashioned from scuba material (May 2016)
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Could anyone apart from Blake pull off this sequinned coat (heavily embellished with flowers, natch) and this striped red minidress (both by Chanel)? Probably not (May 2016)
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Can anyone else pull off tricky shades of yellow with as much panache as Ms. Lively? We don't think so. Golden girl Blake chose velvet Valentino for the Café Society luncheon in Cannes (May 2016)
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Sheer panels? Check. Skin tight? Check. Sparkle? Check. Blake's fashion formula certainly isn't for the faint-hearted, but the actress certainly looked the part at the opening gala for her film, Café Society (May 2015)
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Coat dresses aren't usually part of Blake's sartorial vocabulary, but she pulls off this chic feathered number by Salvatore Ferragamo with aplomb (May 2016)
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For the Café Society photocall in Cannes, Blake channelled the dancing lady emoji (you know the one) in this scarlet jumpsuit by Juan Carlos Obando (May 2016)
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So Blake's pale pink Burberry gown for this year's Met Gala didn't exactly tie in to the event's 'Manus x Machina' theme, but when she looks as great as this, we aren't exactly complaining... (May 2016)
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Lemon yellow isn’t the easiest shade to pull off, but Blake made light work of it in this V-neck Gucci style at the Angel Ball in New York, while pregnant with her first child (October 2014)
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The 2014 Golden Hearts Awards called for another pitch-perfect evening look from Blake – this time, a delicately embellished pale pink dress in a simple, A-line style from Michael Kors Resort. Straight out of Serena van der Woodsen’s wardrobe, don’t you think? (October 2014)
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Proving she can pull off ‘bronde’ just as well as her trademark California blonde, Blake looked effortlessly stylish in a form-fitting, one shouldered black gown by Kaufmanfranco at L’Oreal’s Women of Worth dinner in New York (December 2014)
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Wave print Versace? So appropriate for another The Shallows promo appearance - complete with gloriously corkscrew curls (June 2016)
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For the press conference for her latest film 'Café Society,' Blake chose a patterned pink dress by Jonathan Simkhai, teamed with heels by Brit designer Sophia Webster (July 2016)
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For a night out with friends in New York, Blake wore a blue wrap dress with graphic stripes by Diane von Furstenberg (July 2016)
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For her appearance on the Tonight Show to promote new film 'Café Society,' Blake wore a dramatic cut out style with floral embellishment by Emanuel Ungaro. Who said maternity style had to play it safe? (July 2016)
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Summer in the city calls for a fashion-forward take on the bohemian trend. Blake's patterned midi dress with mesh panels is giving us serious Serena van der Woodsen vibes, too (July 2016)
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Continuing her spot-on maternity style spree for the 'Café Society' promo trail, the actress opted for pale grey Carolina Herrera - complete with white pom-pom detailing (July 2016)
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