Last month, New York Magazine published a super-provocative cover story called, “Nepo Babies: She Has Her Mother’s Eyes. And Agent.” It was a pretty exhaustive list of famous people with famous parents.
The post ingnited a firestorm of discourse around the whole concept of nepo babies.
Some celebs, like Alison Williams, have been great about acknowledging the privilege and access that comes along with being a nepo baby.
Others have been pretty defensive and have come across pretty out-of-touch. Here are some of their statements:
1.
Kaia Gerber — model and child of famous supermodel Cindy Crawford and businessman Rande Gerber — told Elle: “With acting, it’s so different. No artist is going to sacrifice their vision for someone’s kid. That just isn’t how art is made.”
3.
Lily-Rose Depp — actor and child of actor Johnny Depp — told Elle: “It just doesn’t make any sense. If somebody’s mom or dad is a doctor, and then the kid becomes a doctor, you’re not going to be like, ‘You’re only a doctor because your parent is a doctor.’ It’s like, ‘No, I went to medical school & trained.’”
4.
Lily Allen — musician and child of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen — tweeted that people should focus on other nepo babies, not the ones in Hollywood:
The nepo babies y’all should be worrying about are the ones working for legal firms,the ones working for banks,and the ones working in politics, If we’re talking about real world consequences and robbing people of opportunity. BUT that’s none of my business.
6.
Hailey Bieber — a model and child of actor Stephen Baldwin — responded to the nepo baby discourse by wearing this shirt:
7.
Jamie Lee Curtis — actor and child of Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis — wrote on Instagram that “the current conversation about nepo babies is just designed to try to diminish and denigrate and hurt.”
8.
O’Shea Jackson Jr. — actor and child of actor and rapper Ice Cube — said his dad couldn’t hold his hand through his career.
I had to get my ass up and make it work. From the roles I chose. The work ethic I put into them. My professionalism on sets and promo tours. Even leaving HIS agency and goin to find a team of my own. Once the door was opened it was up to me to walk through it and thrive.
9.
Tom Hanks — the father of nepo babies Chet Hanks and Elizabeth Hanks — defended nepo babies, and told Reuters: “Look, this is a family business. This is what we’ve been doing forever. It’s what all of our kids grew up in. If we were a plumbing supply business or if we ran the florist shop down the street, the whole family would be putting in time at some point, even if it was just inventory at the end of the year.”
10.
Zoë Kravitz — an actor/musican and child of actor Lisa Bonet and musician Lenny Kravitz — told Elle: “It’s completely normal for people to be in the family business. It’s literally where last names came from.”
What do you make of their statements? Let me know in the comments below!
