Billie Eilish. Zoë Kravitz. Willow & Jaden Smith. Dave Franco. Clairo. What do all of these celebrities have in common? They’re all nepotism babies! Essentially, nepotism is when businesses favor family and friends of employees or managers when hiring for jobs. This happens on small scales, such as fresh college grads getting jobs with or because of their parents, but in the entertainment industry, nepotism seems to lie in the foundation. The Barrymore family, for example, has had multiple generations of starring actors and actresses. While the most notable member today may be Drew, who started acting when she was only seven years old, both her father and grandfather were both actors in the late and early 20th century respectively.
With the Euphoria season two finale being focused on Maude Apatow’s character Lexi, the young actress stirred up the age-old discourse of ‘nepo-babies’ in Hollywood on social media. While she is being praised for her performance on the show, TikTok comments can’t help but wonder if her parents had something to do with her getting the part. This is considering that her parents are the critically-acclaimed Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann. Judd Apatow is the director/screenwriter/producer/comedian behind movies such as Knocked Up, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Superbad, and Bridesmaids. Her mother Leslie Mann is an actress who can also be found in Knocked Up and The 40 Year Old Virgin, among other hilarious movies. In fact, the first movie Maude ever appeared in was one of her father’s directorial pursuits when she was 14. The movie was the sequel to Knocked Up, called This Is 40, and starred Maude Apatow alongside her mother and little sister.
Maude is just one example of the long history of nepotism in Hollywood, but recently social media sleuths have begun to crack down on any suspected nepo-babies or ‘industry plants’ that gain traction. This all just begs the question – is anyone in the entertainment industry not a nepotism baby? And, honestly, should we even care about it?
Personally, I think the answer is a bit nuanced (something rarely found in internet discourse!). On one hand, the privilege that comes from having wealthy and well-connected family members is undeniable, especially in regards to the acting, modeling, and music world. I love The Strokes, but I don’t think Julian Casablancas could have been such a success without help from his father John Casablancas’s modeling agency, in terms of both finances and connections. But with this being said, I still love The Strokes! Does the fact that it was funded by the frontman’s dad negate that they make good music? Does Billie Eilish’s brother appearing on a few episodes of Glee change the fact that she’s an exceptionally talented artist? Do Maude’s parent’s credentials invalidate her performance as an actress? I think the overall answer to these questions is no. While nepo babies have to bust their ass exceptionally less to get initially recognized, some noteworthy talent is needed to keep audiences interested in them and their family-funded projects. That, or at least an aesthetically-pleasing Instagram and scandals that we can keep up with, à la the KarJenners and Olivia Jade.
While it might be a sign of massive privilege, I don’t think being a nepo-baby is enough to disqualify someone from success if they are acquiring an audience. If that was the case, you might as well throw the entire industry in the trash, start anew and require everyone to show their Ancestry family tree results to get verified on social media. The idolization of celebrities has grown from being able to appreciate their work to being heavily invested in their personal lives through interviews and most recently, social media. With this increased accessibility, people want to see famous couple’s children, to the point that their first tabloid appearance can happen before they’re even born. There is also an element of class structure and classism that should be considered, where those with wealth would want to expand, preserve and essentially hoard it. Simply put, keeping jobs in the family means keeping wealth in the family. This may sound defeatist, but it seems like nepotism is a conscious function of fame, not a defect of it.
Nepo-babies are the norm, so it’s almost baseless to critique a single celebrity for an industry standard that began generations ago. Instead of using this as a point of contention, the focus should be turned to celebrating and promoting actual independent artists, actors, and others trying to get their foot in the door of the entertainment industry. Social media may have made it easier to be discovered as an indie artist, but with streaming services’ low commissions and nepo-babies getting all the attention, showing your support online or buying merch can help support them directly.
My final verdict on the case of TikTok V. Nepo Babies is this; they are guilty of having the privilege of famous familial connections, but they are found not guilty of making inherently bad work because of it. We don’t have to jump straight to serving them the death penalty, but perhaps some community service.