Lily Allen weighs in on the 'nepo babies' debate

If you've never heard of the term 'nepo baby', it's referring to nepotism in the workplace, and more recently, there has been a lot of interest in how it fits into the Hollywood machine - with a Vulture article discussing the term and all those that fit into the category stirring up some emotions.

Lily Allen, who, as the daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen, could be classed as a 'nepo baby', has spoken out about the label, tweeting about how these individuals have been 'scapegoated'. She believes that rather than worrying about those working in the entertainment industry, we should care more about those in 'legal jobs, politics and banks'.

The term, which has been flying around on TikTok for a while, shows how top actors, directors and singers actually come from well-connected families - including the likes of Dakota Johnson, Ben Platt and Zoë Kravitz. 

The singer, who is married to Stranger Things actor David Harbour, took to Twitter to discuss the term.

Taking to Twitter, the Smile singer initially said: "The nepo babies y’all should be worrying about are the ones working for legal firms, the ones working for banks, and the ones working in politics, If we’re talking about real-world consequences and robbing people of opportunity. BUT that’s none of my business."

After some criticism, Lily put out a second tweet that said: "Look, I seem to have riled people up with my comments about nepo babies. I am nearly 40 years of age and am more than happy, in fact, I think it’s important to disclose what a privileged upbringing I’ve had and how that has created so many opportunities for me." 

She continued: "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."

Other celebrity children, who have been labelled 'nepo babies', have spoken about the label recently, with model Lily-Rose Depp (daughter of Johnny Depp) saying to Elle: “It’s weird to me to reduce somebody to the idea that they’re only there because it’s a generational thing.

“It just doesn’t make any sense. If somebody’s mom or dad is a doctor, and then the kid becomes a doctor, you’re not going to be like, ‘Well, you’re only a doctor because your parent is a doctor.’ It’s like, ‘No, I went to medical school and trained.'

“Maybe you get your foot in the door, but you still just have your foot in the door. There’s a lot of work that comes after that.”

What do you think?