MADE in Chelsea star Binky Felstead has joined the ever-growing club of celebs publicly slammed for trying to request freebies without paying a penny.
Despite earning eye-watering sums, several stars have been criticised for shamelessly blagging everything from free to extravagant home .
It’s not been the best week for Made in Chelsea star Binky Felstead, who has been called out for trying to request a free birthday cake for her son from a bakeryCredit: Alamy
Binky was brutally mocked by baker Reshmi Bennett, who set up a joke Go Fund Me page, as millionaire star Binky wanted the free cake in exchange for an Instagram postCredit: GoFundMe
A after the owner of high-end bakery, Anges de Sucre, shared messages sent by assistant trying to blag a free kids’ birthday cake.
It didn’t go down well with the baker, who publicly shared the encounter on and called out the star, said to be worth £1.4million.
Reshmi Bennett wrote: “Now we completely understand that times are tough, especially for influencers…
“Unfortunately, our supplier is very old-fashioned and continues to insist on being paid in actual rather than exposure or engagement.”
A representative for told The Sun that the star wasn’t directly involved and hailed PR freebies as being “widely used within this industry” and “usually mutually beneficial.”
PR consultant Sarah Lloyd told The Sun: “We do have a growing issue in this space – with influencers growing in number and being gifted products in exchange for sharing on their channels – whilst it can be helpful sometimes for brands, it can become a vicious cycle.
“I feel perhaps there are too many ‘takers’ and not enough ‘givers’ – and often the worst offenders are the ones who possibly rose to fame through reality TV, and have this sense of entitlement.”
However, Jenna Farmer, PR expert for founders, argued: “It can be really frustrating when every piece of content on an influencer’s page is #gifted or #ad, especially when you feel like they can afford to pay something that’s completely out of your price range.
“But it’s important to say that it’s not that the brand is sending a present to be .
“They’re gifting or sending freebies in the hope that this then grows their own audience or sales: it’s a business transaction and, at the end of the day, the influencer or celeb has something that could generate a lot of money from a brand.
“When one celeb like Binky gets called out, it makes them a bit of a scapegoat for something that’s actually common practice. Whether you like it or not, she’s not the only one.”
While it may be industry practice, Binky has joined an ever-growing club of stars enjoying the perks of freebies they really should be able to afford…
Mark Wright & Michelle Keegan
ESTIMATED FREEBIE TOTAL: £500,000
Mark Wright and wife Michelle Keegan often posts their home gifted items on InstagramCredit: PA
The couple posted this snap to followers of their bathroom ‘brand partner’Credit: Instagram/wrightyhome
Former star turned presenter has managed to rake in an eye-watering amount of freebies for the £3.5million Essex mansion he owns with wife .
The couple keep fans updated on their Wrighty Home account, which has 656,000 followers.
Mark has been open about contacting companies for help on the house, and one posted: “Any glass companies that can do bespoke like this, please let us know. Inbox us. Thanks.”
Mark decked out his dining room in an array of PR gifted items in November 2022, writing on Instagram: “All furniture for this room is @olivias.uk from table, to chairs, art and main light, lamps and sideboard too.
“The rug is by @luxuryrugcompany, Picture light @chantelle.lighting, Curtains @curtainfactoryoutletlondon, Flooring @v4woodflooring, Black internal Doors @doorluxuk #prproducts”.
The couple live in a £3.5million Essex mansion and run a home account with 656,000 followersCredit: Instagram
Mark often includes tags on his various home posts – suggesting he’s been given items for freeCredit: Not known, clear with picture desk
He has also posted #ads for a TV, a £5,500 sofa, a £3,400 marble dining table, six chairs worth £2,700, among other items.
It’s not just the house that Mark and Michelle have blagged items.
When they wed in May 2015, a month later, the happy couple included no less than 38 plugs for wedding freebies in a Hello! magazine interview and a blog post by Michelle.
These included “spectacular flowers by Interflora” and a Rolls-Royce wedding car arranged by Park Ward Carriage Company, which is based in the borders of Mark’s native Essex, as well as company mentions for dresses, shoes, and .
Is it normal for celebrities to ask for freebies?
Jenna Farmer, PR expert for business founders, weighs in...
Yes, it’s pretty standard for influencers to ask for ‘freebies’.
I get requests for these all the time from influencers for the brands I work with as a PR.
Lots of brands work with influencers because this exchange of gifting for content (with or without payment) can lead to more sales and growth, but the problem is that some influencers don’t always have a good understanding of how it works.
It’s led to lots of influencers reaching out for freebies, without really thinking about whether they can actually offer the business.
Business owners understandably can feel frustrated at being asked to provide something for free, or if they’ve worked with an influencer and seen no result.
This is especially true if you’re a product business whose products take hours and hours to create, and you’re getting these requests all the time.
When an item is gifted to an influencer in exchange for any kind of content (including an Instagram story), ASA guidelines say the disclaimer “Ad” (Short for advertisement) should be used, but unfortunately, lots of influencers don’t do this.
The expectation is usually that the influencer would keep all items sent, as this can act in lieu of payment.
Maura Higgins
ESTIMATED FREEBIE TOTAL: £87,000
Maura Higgins has been gifted Coachella tickets, which have included VIP accessCredit: instagram
Maura also got to celebrate her birthday on a yacht in DubaiCredit: Instagram
Reality star has come a long way from entering the 2019 Love Island villa as an unforgettable bombshell.
The star, who recently appeared on US, now rubs shoulders with Hollywood’s elite at major events.
As is typical when you have 4.3million followers, Maura also gets to enjoy several freebies that come with having a large following.
Last year alone, the stunning influencer spent her birthday in Dubai on a £81,000-a-day .
She also enjoyed £1,000 VIP access tickets and stayed at a £5,000-a week Mykonos villa.
Katie Price
ESTIMATED FREEBIE TOTAL: £150,000
Katie Price has bagged a number of freebies when it comes to her beauty tweakments, such as fillersCredit: Getty
When it comes to beauty freebies, one of the leaders in the blagging department is .
The former glamour model has done it all, from boob , bum lifts, cheek fillers, lip fillers, dental procedures, and a Brazilian butt lift.
Despite her long list of procedures, Katie admitted she could have had way more done, and .
Speaking to Rob Moore on the Disruptors podcast, she said: “Considering I’ve got an open book, like you’re in a restaurant. I can have any surgery I want from most clinics, I don’t take advantage of it as much as I could.
“If I did and really let myself go, I’d look like an alien, and I don’t want to look like an alien.”
As well as her cosmetic gifts, KP also advertises CBD on her social media, admitting recently it helped her to better after one of her bum operations.
Stacey Solomon
ESTIMATED FREEBIE TOTAL: Unknown
Stacey Solomon often gets a host of freebies from her work with brands such as AsdaCredit: George Home
is worth a staggering £7.3million thanks to her TV gigs and popular Instagram page, detailing family life at Pickle Cottage, with .
Thanks to a range of collaborations, Stacey’s social media page is full of ads for items like L’Oreal hair and items, Levi’s jeans and sofa covers.
As is customary in the industry, many of the items can be kept by Stacey after she posts about them.
Meanwhile, her stunning countryside pad was decked out for Halloween in items from her own range.
Jess Wright
ESTIMATED FREEBIE TOTAL: £52,000
Jess Wright also has a home account and posts the companies she works withCredit: Instagram / @jesswright77
Following in the footsteps of brother Mark Wright, Jess Wright also runs her own home account for the detached, three-storey home that she shares with husband William Lee-Kemp and their toddler son Presley.
The star – estimated to be worth over £2million – often posts ads for items she’s been sent for her house, including “quality” carpets and “gorgeous” wardrobes.
In one post, she wrote: “These are the wardrobes we chose for the end of our master bedroom @hammonds_uk in style ‘Clivedon’ , colour ‘praline’ with these gorgeous antique brass knob plates. *prdiscount”.
Millie Mackintosh
ESTIMATED FREEBIE TOTAL: Unknown
Millie Mackintosh is also known to love a freebie item or holidayCredit: Getty
Millie went on a ‘PR trip’ to Turkey’s Hillside Beach ClubCredit: instagram/milliemackintosh
Despite being a descendant of the Quality Street chocolate makers and starring on Made in Chelsea, also takes advantage of a freebie.
She often takes to her Instagram page, which boasts 1.3milllion followers, to share her latest gifted luxury holiday.
In the past this has included a stay at Turkey’s Hillside Beach Club, where rooms go for around £1,300 a night.
She also shared a complimentary stay at the Four Seasons in London, priced at around £1,000 per night, as well as a trip to Ibiza’s Alma Festival.
Laura Anderson
ESTIMATED FREEBIE TOTAL: £35,000
Laura Anderson went on a PR trip to Maldives with her ex-boyfriend Clark RobertsonCredit: Instagram
Laura posed up a storm for her followers during the extravagant stayCredit: Instagram / @lauraanderson1x
Former star sparked outrage from fans after admitting a luxury Maldives trip taken with ex-boyfriend Clark Robertson had been gifted.
One follower: “I don’t understand society! I mean, I get it I get why companies give free holidays like this to promote, but imagine if they allowed people who wouldn’t normally experience these types of things and let them promote on social media.
“Like underpaid nurses, doctors paramedics firemen and women the people that put out so much into society.”
However, some defended the star, insisting it is her job.
One Instagram user commented: “It’s called a PR stay. It’s her job, she has over 1.5 million followers she is able to promote this to. It’s how she earns a living.”
Lauren Goodger
ESTIMATED FREEBIE TOTAL: £3,500
Like many reality stars, Lauren Goodger has also received a number of freebiesCredit: Getty
Lauren showed off this ‘gifted’ media wall that she was givenCredit: instagram/laurengoodger
Mark Wright’s ex has also been called out for her love of freebies.
This included an overnight stay at which she was gifted last June.
Furthermore, she has also had new luxury kitchen taps fitted, and a media wall “gifted.”
Lauren has also promoted some cleaning products online, but this sparked trolls to dirty her Instagram comments.
One blasted: “The house she did not pay for, oh yes she pays for f**k all. god help her when her kids are older and she can not milk men for money due to them”
Another wrote: “Why do we need to see you cleaning ??we know how to clean love !”
One posted: “Blimey times are tough hey”
Cath Tyldesley
ESTIMATED FREEBIE TOTAL: £2,000
Soap star Catherine Tyldesley found the centre of her own ‘cakegate’ in 2023Credit: Getty
Similarly to Binky, star had her own .
She hit when she was accused of trying to blag free birthday cakes – which she insisted she knew nothing about.
It came about when Rebecca Severs, owner of bakery Three Little Birds, shared an email from a company organising a 40th birthday bash for an unidentified star– later revealed to be Catherine.
The request asked for a 40th birthday cake, 100 cupcakes and an extra smaller birthday cake for her husband in return for exposure.
Three Little Birds bakery owner Rebecca Severs shared how she had been approached for a free 40th birthday cake, 100 cupcakes and an extra smaller birthday cake for her husband in return for exposureCredit: Facebook
Rebecca wrote back: “I’m so sorry to hear that your client has fallen on such hard times they can’t afford to pay small businesses their products.
“Unfortunately as my mortgage provider doesn’t take payment ‘in the form of promotion on their socials’, and my staff can’t feed their kids with exposure on Instagram, I’ll have to decline your very generous offer.”
Catherine took to Instagram to insist she had “no idea” about the emails, and said: “Cakegate. What? Um, utterly bizarre, I don’t really know what to say. I mean, I hope the cake lady got the exposure she was craving.”
PR guru Jenna said of business owners in general who are annoyed at celebs trying to bag freebies: “I think it’s completely fair to feel frustrated; especially if you’re a product business whose products take hours and hours to create and you’re getting these requests all the time.”
She added: “Lots of brands work with because this exchange of gifting for content (with or without payment) can lead to more sales and growth but the problem is some influencers don’t always have a good understanding of how it works.
“It’s led to lots of influencers reaching out for freebies, without really thinking about if they can actually offer the business.”
Billie Faiers
ESTIMATED FREEBIE TOTAL: £19,000
Billie Faiers received a hot tub, which she shared on social mediaCredit: Instagram / @billieshepherdofficial
Another Towie star who has had free items is , who is also estimated to have blagged around five figures-worth of gear.
The star also has a home account on Instagram which has been decorated with a glitzy chandelier, a luxury carpet cleaner, and some “gorgeous” decorative prints.
What’s more, Billie and family spent last relaxing in their Lay-Z Spa, but her ad post about the hot tub made a splash after she described the outdoor addition as “perfect affordable luxury“.
One social media user wrote: “They don’t realise how lucky they are! Why don’t they gift it for free not like they need it. Wish it was affordable”
Another posted: “Most people can’t afford to heat their hot tubs any more.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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