Interviewer blasted for challenging rugby star Ilona Maher on not having imposter syndrome
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Olympian complained about earlier queries: ‘You automatically assume I must not feel that I am deserving of where I’m at? ... You think they’re asking NFL players, male politicians if they have imposter syndrome?’. An interviewer has been criticized for repeatedly questioning Olympic rugby star Ilona Maher about how she doesn’t suffer from imposter syndrome, which makes people doubt that they’ve earned their success.
“I don’t have that,” Maher responded in a video posted on CNN’s Instagram. “No, I don’t know what that is. It’s like when you don’t feel like you deserve it, right?”. Macfarlane appeared to be surprised by Maher’s answer, asking: “What?” The rugby star then reiterated that she didn’t think she had the psychological phenomenon.
Yet the interviewer pressed again: “How is that possible? I feel like imposter syndrome ruins my life sometimes.” Maher made it clear in response that she believes she “deserves what [she’s] gotten.”. “I think that I’ve worked very hard, even in the rugby space,” she explained. “I’ve played sports my whole life.”.
She pointed out that her rugby career dates back to when she was in high school and college, way before she first represented the U.S. Women’s Rugby team in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. “I do all the work off the field,” she added. “I posted videos consistently from Tokyo until now. I posted many videos a day. I put myself out there. I put my whole personality, my whole everything out there.”.
