There’s been a lot of talk on the internet lately regarding nepotism in the entertainment industry, as people point to the privilege held by the children of celebrities.
Nepotism babies, “nepo babies” for short, obviously have a far easier time entering the industries dominated by their rich, famous parents, but recently, certain nepo babies have been pushing back against the label.
Zoe Kravitz, daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet, recently told GQ that she feels insecure about the fact that her parent’s names helped propel her into stardom. She followed up this admission with a more defensive statement, saying: “It’s completely normal for people to be in the family business. It’s literally where last names came from. You were a blacksmith if your family was, like, the Black family.”
Kravitz had a fair point, even if she expressed it a little clumsily, but Lily-Rose Depp (daughter of Johnny Depp and French singer Vanessa Paradis) wasn’t as careful with her words, appearing to outright deny her privilege in an interview with Elle. Depp stated:
“People are going to have preconceived ideas about you or how you got there, and I can definitely say that nothing is going to get you the part except for being right for the part … The internet cares a lot more about who your family is than the people who are casting you in things. Maybe you get your foot in the door, but you still just have your foot in the door. There’s a lot of work that comes after that.”
Depp’s tone-deaf comments instantly inspired an avalanche of criticism, as commentators mocked her lack of self-awareness, pointing out that her height (5’2”) would have stunted her modelling career from the outset, if she wasn’t the child of two celebrities.
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Italian model Vittoria Ceretti seemed to take issue with Depp’s comment, posting an Instagram Story that didn’t call out Depp by name, but mentioned an interview with a nepo baby that had angered her. Ceretti wrote:
“You can tell me your sad little story about it (even at the end of the day you can still always go cry on your dad’s couch in your villa in Malibu), but how about not being able to pay for your flight back home to your family? Waiting hours to do a fitting/casting just to see a nepo baby walk past you from the warm seat of her/his Mercedes with her/his driver and her/his friend/assistant/agent taking care of HER/HIS MENTAL HEALTH. You have no f**king idea how much it takes to make people respect you. TAKES YEARS. You just get it [for] free day one.”
Other nepo babies in the entertainment have expressed a little more caution when talking about their advantages. Stranger Things star Maya Hawke, the daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, told Rolling Stone that she's well aware of her privilege:
"I feel like the only way to handle the nepotism thing — which definitely gives you massive advantages in this life — is, you will get chances for free, but the chances will not be infinite. So you have to keep working and do a good job. If you do a bad job, the chances will stop. That's my ethos."
Nepo baby Gwyneth Paltrow spoke about the issue on Hailey Bieber’s YouTube show earlier this year (Bieber is also a nepo baby). Paltrow said:
“As the child of somebody, you get access other people don’t have, so the playing field is not level in that way. However, I really do feel that once your foot is in the door, which you unfairly got in, then you almost have to work twice as hard and be twice as good. Because people are ready to pull you down and say you don’t belong there or you’re only there because of your dad or your mom or whatever the case may be.”
Spare a thought for the nepo babies suffering from imposter syndrome! But at least some nepo babies seem to be genuinely trying to carve their own path, and step out of the shadow of their parents. Lourdes Leon, Madonna’s daughter, said in an interview with The Cut:
“I want to feel like I deserve things and not just like I’ve been given things. And, yes, there’s undeniable privilege that I’d be stupid to not realize. Nepotism babies are pretty awful usually, and my mom and my father raised me to be so much smarter than that.”
Of course, there are many nepo babies who have proved immensely talented and likable, even if they got a bit of help along the way. Nicholas Cage is the nephew of Francis Ford Coppola, and changed his last name to avoid the comparison; director Duncan Jones, son of David Bowie, did the same thing. Jennifer Aniston, Angelina Jolie, Ben Stiller, Liza Minelli, Kurt Russell and Carrie Fisher are all beloved nepo babies who have outshined their parents.
But the biggest nepo baby, the “final boss” of nepo babies, might just be Brooklyn Beckham, son of David and Victoria Beckham. Brooklyn became something of a meme online after releasing a photography book full of painfully amateur photos that regularly make the rounds on Twitter.
Beckham has tried being a soccer player, photographer, monograph author, model, chef and most recently, bartender, and has the resources to keep trying, and failing, for as long as he likes.
It seems unlikely that the beneficiaries of incredible wealth and privilege are going to make thought-provoking art, unless it is about the angst of living in luxury, but it’s certainly possible.
Of course, nepo babies will always be around, and nepotism is an issue that reaches far, far beyond the entertainment industry; it just seems more prolific in Hollywood, as we watch the children of celebrities kickstart their own careers.
But few people really care if an actor, singer or model is a nepo baby, if they do a good job; the public simply doesn't want to hear a nepo baby complain about their privilege, or pretend they’re playing on the same field as everybody else.
