The term ‘nepo baby’ is short for nepotism baby. A nepo baby is a child of a star or celebrity having power and influence in their respective fields. Also, a common perception is that a nepo baby uses their parents’ influence to move forward in their career, which is true in most cases but not always. Recently, the term gained popularity on Twitter.
How did the debate begin?
Nepotism isn’t something new. It is part of every industry almost. However, the buzz surrounding nepo baby began after HBO aired season 2 of Euphoria. In February, a tweet from a Canadian Meriem started the debate of nepo babies, and everyone joined in.
This is what Meriem wrote:
“Wait I just found out that the actress that plays Lexie is a nepotism baby omg her mom is Leslie Mann and her dad is a movie director lol.”
She is talking about Judd Apatow, a renowned filmmaker with movies like The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Funny People, and This Is 40 under his belt. It came as a shock that Gen Z knew Maude Apatow, his daughter, and not him. Derradji got a lot of responses to her tweet. She was also mocked for not knowing that Hollywood is pretty much built on nepotism.
Fascination with celebrities and their kids is not something extraordinary. However, the new term has piqued the curiosity of the current audience. Nepo babies are being unraveled on TikTok, such as Dakota Johnson, Maya Hawke, and Zoe Kravitz.
Why the Buzz?
The New York magazine published a cover story in the last edition before Christmas naming the year 2022 as the year of the nepo baby sparking interest in the term. Also, it shared details of how the term has evolved and a comprehensive flow chart of how Hollywood celebrities are connected.
Is Being a Nepo baby bad?
Sadly, when someone is called a nepo baby, it is not a compliment. If you look up the term on social media, you will find thousands of posts talking about how easy it is for children of celebrities to establish their careers. The term is viewed negatively and suggests that a person was able to land a role and get fame due to connections or a relative’s popularity rather than their hard work and talent. Those who get this label do not appreciate it.
People criticize nepotism and nepo babies mainly because star kids have privileges due to their parents or familial connection. On the other hand, talented people out there struggle to get auditions because they do not know the right people in the industry.
Some Popular Nepo Babies
Some famous nepo babies include Miley Cyrus, her father is country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. Actors Goldie Hawn and Bill Hudson are Kate Hudson’s parents. The parents of Dakota Johnson, Don Johnson, and Melanie Griffith were actors too.
Genzers are now looking into the term and finding out about nepo babies. Exposing nepo babies is a hot trend on TikTok at the moment.
