13 Stars Chiming in on the Nepo Baby Discourse

No words were spoken, and yet we got Hailey Bieber's message loud and clear. The model has always shined with her street-style looks, but this outfit really stopped traffic as she walked down the streets of Los Angeles in a "nepo baby" t-shirt. As the daughter of American actor Stephen Baldwin, we're glad Bieber is aware of her nepo baby status.

The one who really led the way in speaking up about the nepo baby phenomenon, top model Vittoria Ceretti had a lot to say. In an Instagram story, Ceretti spoke about her experience entering the modeling industry and the frustration from the lack of self-awareness nepo babies have regarding their privilege.

"Yes, I get the whole 'Im here and I work hard for it,' but I would really love to see if you would have lasted thru the first five years of my career. Not only being rejected, because I know you have an experience with it and you can tell me your sad little story about it (even if at the end of the day you can still always go cry on your dad's couch in your villa in Malibu)," Ceretti wrote.

After Ceretti's response, other models began to follow her lead and share their opinions on the subject matter.

In a now-deleted tweet, Lottie Moss, half-sister of supermodel Kate Moss, took a stance in support of nepotism. "I’m so sick of people blaming nepotism for why they aren’t rich and famous or successful," the tweet read. "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. If you put your mind to something you can accomplish anything! So instead of being negative about other people's success, go and try and create your own."

The British model has since deactivated her Twitter account following the backlash from her comment.

Runway model Anok Yai opened up about her early days entering the modeling industry and how she had to pretend as if she wasn't struggling financially to be taken seriously while some of her counterparts "stress about not booking a job" because of their career and image and not because they need the money.

"Just weeks into my career, my agent sat me down and told me – 'Everyone thinks you're rich now so you have to play the part...' I remember barely being able to afford living in New York but having to budget out flights, hotels and cars for work; taking out loans so I could buy food, drowning in debt, seeing myself on billboards but having a few dollars to my name. I didn't mind – I wanted to earn my stripes," Yai wrote in an Instagram story. "What bothers me is when power players in the industry (brands, directors, editors, etc) pretend to be ignorant to that fact...I know you work hard and have your struggles like the rest of us, but goddamn if you only knew the hell we go through to stand in the same room that you were born in." 

Nyagua Ruea chimed in on the conversation with the added layer of race. On top of dealing with nepo babies, she and her fellow Black models must compete knowing they are at the disadvantage of being denied opportunities because of skin color.

"As much as I understand where Vittoria is coming from & completely agree, I will speak for my fellow Black/African models. Our reality is completely different because I don't even think there's any one Black model who has benefitted from nepotism," Ruea's Instagram story read. "Each and every single one of us has had to build & work for everything we have from scratch."

Similar to Ruea and with the added perspective of being a refugee, Aweng Chuol chimes in stating that her success was important not only for her survival but the safety of her family. "Barely scrapping the surface of any privilege, or mommy/daddy money, mommy and daddy never had a roof over their heads, they were running from war. Working ten times as hard to get in the same room," Chuol wrote. 

Brazilian model Gizele Oliveira kept it honest by stating most nepo babies wouldn't be successful if it wasn't for their privilege. In an Instagram story, she explains how she has fought for her career from day one, while nepo babies cannot attest to knowing what that experience feels like. "I know deep inside my heart that at least 95% of these nepo kids would never ever make it if they weren't nepo kids," Oliveira wrote. "Coming from a small town in Brazil and having to hear a no to even get an agency in São Paulo or my first US visa declined, I can definitely say that I fight everyday for my name and career, and none of them would ever know what that is."

Top model Coco Rocha agrees with both sides of the argument by explaining there are definitely advantages to nepotism, but at the end of the day every successful model has had to make the most of their opportunities—nepo baby or not. In a four-part video on social media, Rocha talks about how "privilege is a ladder." She even speaks on the racial inequality in the industry by saying, "Because of the racist legacy of this industry, white models start off higher on the ladder than models of color. More opportunities are given to them, whether that's fair or not."

As she continues, she questions why everyone is so focused on nepotism itself, instead of looking at how "we recognize our own position, reach down and pull someone up." She adds, "All models have been born with some advantages, some just more than others. If any of them wanted to make it, they would have had to put in some effort."

Famous actress Gwyneth Paltrow first ackowledged her opinion about nepotism in July 2022 when talking on the Youtube series Who's In My Bathroom. She said that the playing field is "not level," but once you're in, you have to put in double the work: "I really do feel that once your foot is in the door, which you unfairly got in, then you almost have to work twice as hard and be twice as good,” she continued. “Because people are ready to pull you down and say, ‘You don’t belong there,’ or ‘You are only there because of your dad or your mom.’" 

Adding more to the conversation, Paltrow recently commented on an InStyle Instagram post showing Bieber's "nepo baby" shirt in which she wrote, "I might need a few of those." With over 800 likes, the comment was clearly met with laughs and lightheartedness.

In a September 2022 interview with Net-A-Porter, Maude Apatow responded on how she feels about nepo babies—a label she can personally attest to being given. She expressed that she "was sad" when she was first called that, because "it felt like people weren’t judging [her] on [her] talent." She continued by saying, "I try not to let it get to me because I obviously understand that I’m in such a lucky position. A lot of people [in a similar position] have proven themselves over the years, so I’ve got to keep going and make good work. It’s so early in my career, I don’t have much to show yet, but hopefully one day I’ll be really proud of the stuff I’ve done by myself.”

The daughter of former NBC anchor Brian Williams, Allison Williams, is very aware of her nepo baby title and she has some things to say. In an interview with Vulture, the M3GHAN star said that "all that people are looking for is an acknowledgment that it’s not a level playing field." She continued by saying, “It’s just unfair. Period, end of the story, and no one’s really working that hard to make it fair. To not acknowledge that me getting started as an actress versus someone with zero connections isn’t the same — it’s ludicrous. It doesn’t take anything away from the work that I’ve done. It just means that it’s not as fun to root for me.”

On Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, Williams further added to the nepo baby conversation, saying, "I feel like people get tripped up because they feel like they're coming for their skill. The subtext is 'you're not good, you don't deserve what you have.' The truth is there will always be people who feel that way about me...You know I work really hard, whatever, but I'm not like an underdog...I came into this with a big headstart and I feel like it's totally okay to admit that. I feel very lucky and I'm very privileged for sure."

Daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen, Lily Allen, shared how she believed having famous parents worked against her. "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 said on Twitter. While she acknowledges that she grew up with privilege, she defends her success by stating how hard she worked to where she's gotten. 

"I felt like I worked extremely hard and that I deserved the success that I had," Allen said. "People connected to my songs and that the songs came from me, I also had quite a fraught relationship with some of my family members so it felt difficult for me to attribute my successes to them, at the time. But we all know it's more complicated than that."

“I’ve always acknowledged that I come from privilege,” said model Gigi Hadid in a recent interview with Times of London. Hadid is the daughter of former model and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Yolanda Hadid and renowned property developer Mohamed Hadid. Gigi booked her first modeling job at the age of two and earned a coveted pair of angel wings on the Victoria’s Secret catwalk in 2015. Since then, the model has graced fashion magazines internationally and walked just about every runway imaginable. Admitting her looks alone weren’t solely to credit for her supermodel status, Hadid continued, “I don’t think I’m the prettiest person in the world.” She added, “My parents told me, ‘Just because you have parents who were successful, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t walk into the job being as nice and as hard-working as you can be.”