Far, far away in a glamorous sea of camera lights and movie screens, lies a kingdom we are all very familiar with, known as Hollywood. We’ve all heard the age-old quotes about working hard because, in the real world, nothing is just going to be handed to us. However, something tells me that people like Hailey Bieber (Stehphen Baldwin) and Lily Rose Depp (Johnny Depp) have never had to worry too much about that.

If you’re not familiar with the term ‘nepo baby,’ it’s when a person acquires certain opportunities or privileges due to their parents’ connections in the industry. Thus, making them patrons of nepotism. 

Now, the system of nepotism is a form of networking that’s been around for quite some time, but it gains more recognition over social media every so often. The internet is quick to question the validity of one’s talent upon finding out that their parents may have already paved a way for them. 

Maude Apatow (Judd Apatow)  caught the brunt of this for the first time after her breakout role in Sam Levinson’s (Barry Lee Levinson) HBO series Euphoria and then once again after being cast in the off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors last year. 

Due to her father’s connections in the industry as a wildly successful filmmaker and producer, many people speculated whether or not it was Apatow’s talent that led her to those roles. This viral discussion quickly marked her as the newest face of the nepo baby community. 

However, being a nepo baby is often something celebrities can’t avoid. At the end of the day, a child cannot choose which family they’re born into and in some cases, following in the footsteps of their elders is the expectation. For example, it would be incredibly unrealistic for Jaden Smith to avoid stardom with A-list parents like Jada Pickett Smith and Will Smith, who have proved time and time again are far from camera shy. 

For other children, having one parent’s last name and the other parent’s good looks is what really sets their careers into motion. Actresses like Maya Hawke (Uma Thurman), Nico Parker (Thandiwe Newton), and Kaia Gerber (Cindy Crawford) are just a few examples of stars who have been credited to be splitting images of their mothers. 

A common misconception is that nepo babies are not hard-working. Perhaps this is because we’re all bitter and having to deal with the weight of actually having to work for the things we want. While that might be part of the reason, I think the part that really annoys me is that they’re taking opportunities from more deserving prospects. 

Ben Platt for example who portrayed the titular character in the Dear Evan Hansen jukebox musical of 2021 where he was very clearly at least a decade older than the character was written to be. But I guess logistics like that don’t matter when it’s your father Marc Platt in the producer’s chair. 

 Now this isn’t a dig at every celebrity with a famous relative, I don’t hate nepotism babies! There are some that I love very much, like singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams. (Thank you Star Wars director JJ Abrams). Despite being born into the industry with several connections at her disposal, Abrams first began her climb to fame by posting covers on YouTube and has continued a successful career independently from her father’s field. Though releasing her debut single in 2019, Abrams just recently started earning mainstream recognition as she toured with Taylor Swift last summer and was just nominated for her first Grammy award this past November. 

So you may have read this article and chalked me up as a poor jealous hater and sure, I might be but that’s not really the point. The point is that nepotism is unfair but it’s not going anywhere. The Hollywood royalty will stay in power and us peasants will continue to praise them because deep down, we know it’s all part of the game. The Baldwins and the Depps are just playing it better.