All apologies as Next Star Mums competition backfires

Next has apologised following a furious response to the judging panel for a ‘Star Mum’ competition, held in conjunction with Hello! magazine.

The retailer shared an image on Instagram of the all-white celebrity panellists, including Made in Chelsea’s Binky Felstead, former Girls Aloud singer Kimberley Walsh and BBC newsreader Kate Silverton. The backlash included such comments as “you basically have to be white, thin and able-bodied to be a star mum? What a narrow view of motherhood” and “the panel should be ashamed of themselves for agreeing to be a part of this”. Meanwhile, the fifth judge of the competition, blogger Anna Whitehouse, aka Mother Pukka, told her Instagram followers that she should have called out the “lack of diversity”.

In a statement posted on Instagram, Next said: “We hold our hands up and admit we made a huge mistake when reviewing the suggested Star Mums judging panel from Hello! They assure us that many ethnicities will be represented at the awards itself. We would hate for this misunderstanding to overshadow what is an extremely empowering means to celebrate all mums, from all races and backgrounds. We sincerely hope you can accept our apologies for failing here.”

The retailer did, however, have some supporters, with responses to its post including: ‘People are far too easily offended over nothing these days. “Offended” and “hurt” are thrown around far too easily these days, especially on social media. If it’s offensive to an individual then why does the whole world have to know, it’s just an opinion, not an earth shattering revelation or resolution. People need to chill.’