Since its broadcast on December 19, the image has been making the rounds on social networks.
With its cover dedicated to "Nepo babies" (contraction of the term "nepotism babies", "babies of nepotism" in French),
New York Magazine
is making headlines.
“She has her eyes.
And his agent” announces the front page, pointing to a number of actors, models and other directors whose parents were already stars.
We can see babies Maya Hawke (the daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke), John David Washington (the son of Denzel Washington) or Dakota Johnson, smiling in a nursery.
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The social reproduction of cultural elites is at the center of the debate here.
We are talking about well-born personalities, to whom parents offer, from birth, education, codes, network and money, sometimes generating a feeling of injustice in public opinion.
The phenomenon is not specific to Hollywood, it also exists in France and goes back to a long aristocratic tradition.
So why this controversy?
A marketing argument
What was once the exception would increasingly become the norm.
"Today they are not only plentiful, they are thriving," recalls
New York Magazine
in its dossier .
The article evokes the marketing interest that these actors with the already known surname can represent, with a young public connected on social networks.
And also evokes these films whose concept would be based solely on the meeting of celebrities with their offspring: Kate Winslet and her daughter Mia Threapleton in
I am Ruth
, Dustin Hoffman, Jake Hoffman, Sissy Spacek and her daughter Schuyler Fisk in
Sam & Kate
, two films released in 2022. The magazine also denounces the closeness between celebrities and media, which allowed Brooklyn Beckham (son of David and Victoria Beckham) to make the cover of the “Young Hollywood” issue of
Variety
.
In an article where he did not mention any particular film project.
New
York Magazine
finally mentions some "sons and daughters of" who benefit from the family network, even if their parents are not famous.
This is the case of Lena Dunham, whose artist parents (photographer Laurie Simmons and painter Carroll Dunham) provided the necessary cultural capital, without being known.
The response of the “nepo babies”
Many “nepo babies” swear they fought hard to get there.
"You have to prove yourself twice as much" assures Gwyneth Paltrow (daughter of actress Blythe Danner and director Bruce Paltrow) to Hailey Bieber (niece of Alec Baldwin), on the latter's YouTube channel
.
Zoë Kravitz (daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet), in the columns of
GQ,
recognizes that the term "nepo baby" fills her with "deep insecurity".
But she assumes: "It's normal to be part of the family business".
Some, like Lily Allen, even wanted to come to the aid of “nepo babies”.
Monday, December 19, the British singer launches a rant on Twitter: "The only" nepo babies "you should worry about are those who work in law firms, in banks and in politics, in view of the real consequences of their actions," she said.
The daughter of British producer Alison Owen and actor Keith Allen admits that she had a "privileged childhood", which gave her "many opportunities".
But recalls the negative impact that being the offspring of stars can have: “Children, we need stability, love and care.
We still don't care about money or proximity to power.
Most nepo babies lacked these basic things in childhood because their parents are probably narcissistic.
Without forgetting this pirouette: “Before you take it out on me because I myself am a “nepo baby”, I will be the first to tell you that I literally deserve nothing at all.”
But most voices on the Internet denounce the phenomenon.
On Instagram, top Vittoria Ceretti addressed Lily-Rose Depp in a since-deleted post: “How about you not being able to pay for your flight home to find your family?
To wait hours for a fitting/casting just to see a “nepo baby” pass in front of you?”.
Another model, Anok Yai, born in Egypt into a family of South Sudanese refugees, confirms: “F***** if you only knew the hell we go through just to be able to stay in the room where you were born” .
Nepo babies are pretty nasty
Lourdes Leon
find your own way
Still, not all celebrity children succeed.
And some choose other paths, like Stella McCartney who, in British fashion, somehow surpassed the genius of her father, Paul McCartney.
We will also appreciate the effort of Lourdes Léon, Madonna's daughter, who declares: “The 'nepo babies' are quite revolting, and my mother and my father raised me in a smarter way than that”.
The question, in any case, has not finished agitating the year 2023.