What are Nepo Babies?
Thanks for asking. All week long we're looking into 10 new terms and concepts that are certain to be on everyone's lips in 2023!
In December 2022 New York Magazine ran a cover which got a lot of attention.
It featured the heads of a number of Hollywood celebs like Lily -Rose Depp, Ben Platt, Dakota Johnson and Zoe Kravitz all edited onto babies' bodies.
In the centre of the page the bright pink headline read She has her mother's eyes and agent.
The article inside labelled 2022 the year of the Nepo Baby.
What those celeb babies all have in common is that they're the children of famous successful parents.
That's where the Nepo part comes from as in nepotism.
Right from the get Go, these kids had an advantage or even arguably a sure road to success.
A lot of people feel disappointed or even slightly betrayed when they find out a celeb they admire had a leg up through their parent's connections rather than being self -made.
Isn't that obvious?
That's been the case forever, hasn't it?
Well, you're right, but it seems that Gen Z is just discovering that reality.
Nepo Baby Discussions actually first started online in early 2022, when season 2 of HBO show Euphoria was broadcast.
25 -year -old Canadian tech support worker Miryam Daraji tweeted the following about Euphoria cast member Maude Apatole, Wait, I just found out that the actress that plays Lexi is a nepotism baby.
OMG. Her mum is Leslie Mann and her dad is a movie director, LOL.
The post was liked over 4000 times and received over 2500 replies.
Over on TikTok users made similar realisations about other under the radar Nepo babies.
More and more examples were found and posted it was as if some kind of conspiracy was being uncovered.
It makes sense when you think about it as members of Gen Z are too young to have been familiar with the famous parents of nepo babies when they were in their prime, but that didn't make it any less heartbreaking for kids in the land of the American dream, finding out that the meritocracy they believed
in was broken. What do Nepo babies themselves have to say on the issue?
Some have said that it's brought on guilt and anxiety, and recognised that they owe their success at least in part to their family's influence.
Others have come out fighting unapologetically.
Okay, we may have had an advantage to start with, but talent always wins out in the end.
Talking to Elle magazine, Lily -Rose Depp, the daughter of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis, said it was weird to reduce somebody to the idea that they're only there because it's a generational thing.
Zoe Kravitz, the daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet, told GQ that it was completely normal for people to be in the family business.
To some extent, that's true, and nepotism isn't limited to the entertainment industry.
But Nepo baby defensiveness only led to an online backlash, in particular from actors and models struggling to make it off their own back, without mummy and daddy's help.
Most internet users admit that if they were in the position of a Nepo baby they would of course use their parents' influence to get ahead.
But the consensus is that it's hypocritical to not at least be a little humble and recognise that you've been afforded opportunities because of your parents.
There you have it. Now you know what Nepal babies are.
In under three minutes we answer your questions and help you understand the true meaning behind the trends, concepts and acronyms that are making headlines.
Listen along and you will really know it for sure.
