Stars React to Viral ‘Nepo Baby’ Article, Claims of Favoritism in Hollywood: Jamie Lee Curtis, Lily Allen and More

Credit: Shutterstock (2)

Stars React to Viral ‘Nepo Baby’ Article, Claims of Favoritism in Hollywood: Jamie Lee Curtis, Lily Allen and More

Lifestyles of the rich, famous and inherently privileged. Jamie Lee Curtis, Lily Allen and more “nepo babies” clapped back at claims they have it easier in Hollywood following New York Magazine’s bombshell cover story. Stars whose parents or relatives are already in the industry — and the culture that rewards them — came under fire earlier this month when the now-viral article revealed how many actors and musicians have found fame thanks to their connections. “We love them, we hate them, we disrespect them, we’re obsessed with them,” read a tweet from outlet's account on Monday, December 19, alongside a link to the article. In the piece, stars including Maude Apatow, Zoë Kravitz, Dakota Johnson and Ben Platt were all scrutinized for how they got their start. “She has her mother’s eyes. And agent,” the magazine trolled on its cover. Curtis, who called herself an “OG Nepo Baby,” subsequently took issue with the article, detailing why the criticism of celebrity kids is unwarranted. “The current conversation about nepo babies is just designed to try to diminish and denigrate and hurt,” the Halloween star — whose parents, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, were both movie stars in the 1950s and 1960s — wrote via Instagram on Friday, December 23. The 64-year-old Freaky Friday actress, who has been working since she was 19, explained that she has “navigated 44 years with the advantages my associated and reflected fame brought me.” She noted: “I don't pretend there aren't any, that try to tell me that I have no value on my own.” [jwplayer 0JjFYIrQ-zhNYySv2] In her lengthy statement, the Everything Everywhere All at Once star argued it’s “not true” that someone’s connections in Hollywood should negate their level of talent. “There are many of us. Dedicated to our craft,” she wrote. “Proud of our lineage. Strong in our belief in our right to exist.” Meanwhile, the 37-year-old British singer  — who is the daughter of daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owe — reacted to the article by slamming its focus. “The nepo babies y’all should be worrying about are the ones working for legal firms,” Lily tweeted on Monday. “The ones working for banks and the ones working in politics.” She pointed out: “If we’re talking about real world consequences and robbing people of opportunity. BUT that’s none of my business.” The “Littlest Things” musician acknowledged that she has benefited from her parents' status, writing, “I will be the first to tell you that I literally deserve nothing.” After defending her fellow "nepo babies" on social media, Lily revealed that she is “more than happy” with her life, admitting “what a privileged upbringing I’ve had and how that has created so many opportunities for me.” She concluded by writing: “Anyway, enough internets for today, I am abandoning my post as chief nepo baby defender. Have a wonderful rest of your day.” Scroll down to see which stars have reacted to New York Magazine’s eye-opening article:

Credit: Shutterstock (2)

Stars React to Viral ‘Nepo Baby’ Article, Claims of Favoritism in Hollywood: Jamie Lee Curtis, Lily Allen and More

Lifestyles of the rich, famous and inherently privileged. Jamie Lee Curtis, Lily Allen and more “nepo babies” clapped back at claims they have it easier in Hollywood following New York Magazine’s bombshell cover story. Stars whose parents or relatives are already in the industry — and the culture that rewards them — came under fire earlier this month when the now-viral article revealed how many actors and musicians have found fame thanks to their connections. “We love them, we hate them, we disrespect them, we’re obsessed with them,” read a tweet from outlet's account on Monday, December 19, alongside a link to the article. In the piece, stars including Maude Apatow, Zoë Kravitz, Dakota Johnson and Ben Platt were all scrutinized for how they got their start. “She has her mother’s eyes. And agent,” the magazine trolled on its cover. Curtis, who called herself an “OG Nepo Baby,” subsequently took issue with the article, detailing why the criticism of celebrity kids is unwarranted. “The current conversation about nepo babies is just designed to try to diminish and denigrate and hurt,” the Halloween star — whose parents, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, were both movie stars in the 1950s and 1960s — wrote via Instagram on Friday, December 23. The 64-year-old Freaky Friday actress, who has been working since she was 19, explained that she has “navigated 44 years with the advantages my associated and reflected fame brought me.” She noted: “I don't pretend there aren't any, that try to tell me that I have no value on my own.” [jwplayer 0JjFYIrQ-zhNYySv2] In her lengthy statement, the Everything Everywhere All at Once star argued it’s “not true” that someone’s connections in Hollywood should negate their level of talent. “There are many of us. Dedicated to our craft,” she wrote. “Proud of our lineage. Strong in our belief in our right to exist.” Meanwhile, the 37-year-old British singer  — who is the daughter of daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owe — reacted to the article by slamming its focus. “The nepo babies y’all should be worrying about are the ones working for legal firms,” Lily tweeted on Monday. “The ones working for banks and the ones working in politics.” She pointed out: “If we’re talking about real world consequences and robbing people of opportunity. BUT that’s none of my business.” The “Littlest Things” musician acknowledged that she has benefited from her parents' status, writing, “I will be the first to tell you that I literally deserve nothing.” After defending her fellow "nepo babies" on social media, Lily revealed that she is “more than happy” with her life, admitting “what a privileged upbringing I’ve had and how that has created so many opportunities for me.” She concluded by writing: “Anyway, enough internets for today, I am abandoning my post as chief nepo baby defender. Have a wonderful rest of your day.” Scroll down to see which stars have reacted to New York Magazine’s eye-opening article:

Credit: Atilano Garcia/SOPA Images/Shutterstock

Tom Hanks

The Academy Award winner — whose four children are all actors — weighed in on the nepo baby debate in January 2023. (The beloved actor's latest movie, A Man Called Otto, also costars son Truman Hanks.)

“Look, this is a family business,” the Cast Away star told The Sun. “This is what we’ve been doing forever. It’s what all of our kids grew up in. If we were a plumbing supply business or if we ran the florist shop down the street, the whole family would be putting in time at some point, even if it was just inventory at the end of the year.”

Credit: MediaPunch/Shutterstock

Allison Williams

“There’s no conversation about my career without talking about the ways in which I have been fortunate,” the actress, whose parents are former NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams and TV producer Jane Gillan Stoddard, told Wired in December 2022. “It doesn’t feel like a loss to admit it. If you trust your own skill, I think it becomes very simple to acknowledge.”

Credit: Hahn Lionel/ABACA/Shutterstock

Jamie Lee Curtis

“I have been a professional actress since I was 19 years old so that makes me an OG Nepo Baby,” the Scream Queens alum wrote via Instagram. “I've never understood, nor will I, what qualities got me hired that day, but since my first two lines on Quincy as a contract player at Universal Studios to this last spectacular creative year some 44 years later, there's not a day in my professional life that goes by without my being reminded that I am the daughter of movie stars.”

She continued: “It's curious how we immediately make assumptions and snide remarks that someone related to someone else who is famous in their field for their art, would somehow have no talent whatsoever. I have come to learn that is simply not true. I have suited up and shown up for all different kinds of work with thousands of thousands of people and every day I've tried to bring integrity and professionalism and love and community and art to my work. I am not alone.”

Jamie asked her fans to try and “try to find that quiet voice” inside and “be kind” to yourself and others.

Credit: Richard Young/Shutterstock

Lottie Moss

Kate Moss’ half-sister has been outspoken about getting special treatment because of her supermodel relative, but Lottie slammed fans who were trolling her following the NY Mag article. “I’m so sick of people blaming nepotism for why they aren’t rich and famous or successful,” she tweeted on Wednesday, December 21. “Obviously it’s not fair that people who come from famous families are getting a leg up because of that but guess what? Life isn’t fair.”

The model added: “If you put your mind to something you can accomplish anything ! So instead of being negative about other peoples success go and try and create your own!”

Lottie — who went on to temporarily delete her Twitter account amid the backlash — noted: “I obviously am so grateful that I’ve had the opportunities that I’ve had don’t get it twisted.”

She concluded: “And am privileged for numerous other reasons and as I say I am grateful for it all but s--tting on others because of it makes NO sense. Obviously, I’m privileged being related to a huge model also.”

Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Lily Allen

“In childhood we crave stability and love, nurturing, we don’t care about money or proximity to power yet,” she tweeted. “Many of the nepo babies are starved of these basic things in childhood as their parents are probably narcissistic.”

The "F--k You" songstress claimed that the “entertainment business is not parent friendly,” pointing out that many stars are away for months at a time to tour or film. “It can be hard to see one’s own privilege when you’re still processing childhood trauma, and a lot of these kids haven’t figured that out yet,” she added.

Lily told her followers that “Nepo babies have feelings” and asked for people to be less judgmental. “I do feel that nepo babies are being somewhat scapegoated here though, there is a wider, societal conversation to be had about wealth inequality, about lack of programs and funding, and I guess that was the point I was trying to make, maybe badly,” she wrote.

Credit: Courtesy of Oshea Jackson Jr./Instagram

Oshea Jackson Jr.

Jackson Jr. made a name for himself portraying his real-life father, Ice Cube, in 2015’s Straight Outta Compton. The actor revealed in a series of tweets on Tuesday, December 20, that he was already hard at work before landing the dream role.

“My dad told me in a perfect world, I would play him in Straight Outta Compton. I was already in college for screenwriting at USC. I accepted the challenge,” he wrote. “And auditioned for two years before getting the role. After that it was up to me, he couldn’t hold my hand through my career.”

Jackson Jr. explained he had to get his “ass up and make it work” and emphasized the “worth ethic” he put in on the daily. “Once the door was opened it was up to me to walk through it and thrive,” he continued. “None of that. NONE. OF. THAT. Happens that way without the love of my father. The work he put in to get us to a place of opportunity. And for me to ignore that or not accept and use as a guide would be foolish and disrespectful. I am grateful and I use his teachings daily.”

The Los Angeles native decalred that anyone with generational “talent/wealth” should “embrace that s—t,” noting that it is “something that’s been happening for centuries.” He later implored his fans to “not let anyone get it in your head that you should feel bad or your accomplishments are less than what they are. Bust your ass! Do the work! And leave something for your kids to do the same thing!”

The Obi-Wan Kenobi star concluded that with the help of his father, he was able to really thrive in and out of the industry. “May everyone who reads this, blaze a trail for their family to be able to walk in the future. And teach them to love themselves,” Jackson Jr. wrote. “To love their family. And pave the way for the next. Thank you that was my TED talk.”

Credit: Andy Kropa/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Eve Hewson

Bono’s daughter joked that she was “gonna get Nepo Baby tattooed on my ass” after learning about the article. She tweeted on Tuesday that she wanted all the children of celebs to “unite and dress up as giant babies for Halloween.”

The Bad Sisters actress trolled NY Magazine CEO, Pamela Wasserstein, revealing via social media on Thursday, December 22, that she “is a nepo baby herself.” Hewson told her followers that Wasserstein’s “dad bought the magazine in 2004.”

Credit: Andrew Morales/Shutterstock

Meghan McCain

“For whatever it’s worth — I think @NYMag should do a follow up ‘nepo baby’ deep dive except with politics and news media,” the journalist, who is the daughter of late senator John McCain, tweeted on Friday. “I get most of the heat — but I assure you politic[s] and media is an absolute f--k fest of everyone who is related to someone. (I say this recognizing I am one).”

Credit: Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

Lisa Rinna

“We birthed 2 nepo babies and they know how freaking lucky they are,” the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star commented on a Friday Instagram post about the magazine, referring to children Amelia Gray and Delilah Belle Hamlin. “They are grateful and they own it. 🤗.”

Credit: Gregory Pace/Shutterstock

Zoey Deutch

The Set It Up star, who is the daughter of director Howard Deutch and actress Lea Thompson, shared Eve Hewson's tweet about how NY Magazine is owned by CEO Pamela Wasserstein's father.

Credit: Shutterstock

Kate Hudson

The Almost Famous actress, whose mother is Goldie Hawn, shrugged off the nepotism debate in an interview with The Independent. “The nepotism thing, I mean … I don’t really care,” she told the outlet. “I look at my kids and we’re a storytelling family. It’s definitely in our blood. People can call it whatever they want, but it’s not going to change it.” She added that she thinks there are "other industries" besides the film business where nepotism is more common. “Maybe modeling? I see it in business way more than I see it in Hollywood," she continued. "Sometimes I’ve been in business meetings where I’m like, ‘Wait, whose child is this? Like, this person knows nothing!’ I don’t care where you come from, or what your relationship to the business is — if you work hard and you kill it, it doesn’t matter.”

Credit: Rob Latour/Shutterstock

Jameela Jamil

"Because the back and forth on this is getting dull ... yes, the nickname must be a little grating and is deliberately patronizing," the Good Place alum wrote via her Instagram Story. "And that's a bit s–t because you have your own human trials and struggles. But all you have to say is the truth, that while you may have earned your place, your start was handed to you on a silver platter. That doesn't make you untalented. It just makes you extremely lucky and you just need to acknowledge that and move on. You worked harder than other nepo babies to get where you are now, sure, but you sure as s–t didn't work as hard as the people working three s–tty jobs to try to eat/make rent while trying to make their wildest dreams come true, with zero access, against all odds. So let's all just move on. I'm more privileged than an actor with a disability. But I'm less privileged than you. We all exist on a scale of privilege, and to deny it and use the 'hard work' argument is not only pretty ludicrous, but it also pours gasoline on the fire."