Natalie Massenet’s words on motherhood were twisted to tell a different story last week

Last weekend I sat front and centre as Natalie Massenet stood on stage for the Vogue Festival in London. Wearing a beautiful little black dress from Victoria Beckham, Natalie took to the podium and began one of the most honest and revealing chats we’ve yet to hear from the Net-a-Porter founder. When the talk finished I sprinted, yes physically sprinted, to the press room to start writing up the story.  It was, quite honestly, my light bulb moment in fashion.

Here was a woman that was standing tall on stage and telling the women in the audience that having it all is possible. Yes, she did admit it’s a juggling act, but she is walking and talking proof of a woman that has a successful career and a beautiful family.  My review was glowing. That’s no surprise. You all know that Natalie Massenet is a heroine of mine and that Net-a-Porter is a company I consider to be the perfect model for retail online.

That all being said, I woke up the next morning to find very different reviews on Natalie Massenet’s speech from some of the top media outlets online. It was being reported that Natalie’s experience with building a business and a baby at the same time was a miserable one. Frankly speaking, I am floored by this irresponsible writing.  Nothing could have been further from the truth. Saying this was taken out of context would be an exaggeration. Truly, this story was created from thin air and twisting words to meet an agenda, and a mean one at that.

Natalie Massenet opened up to the world in a very personal way and of course leave it to our media to take such a situation and blow it into something that never was. THIS, people, is why celebs and public figures do not share information with the press. Inevitably it will be twisted and turned to create a ridiculous story that will get page views or sell newspapers. And it’s all done at the expense of the person sharing.

It is hard enough for women, in this day and age, to try and make a family and a career work. Sadly, I do believe that when women stand up to announce that it is all possible, all too often they are immediately flattened by those who “control” the public perspective. To this I say, dare to ask questions. We live in a world where the media cannot always be trusted in their reports, both positive and negative. Whereas the positive tend to be true, the negative I question with gusto these days.

Thanks for allowing me to stand on my soapbox for five minutes. This whole Natalie Massenet situation stirred something in me and has, yes, led me down the path of standing up for women in business and public figures in general who dare to share their lives with the general public. It’s a nasty road and even to this day I’m unsure of why it has to be this way…

{Read FFG’s report on Natalie Massenet’s Vogue Festival Talk}

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