This caught my eye recently: 'Nepo babies'
Lily-Rose Depp doesn't think that she's a 'nepo baby'.
First, some quick background on the term 'nepo baby'. It's shorthand for a nepotism baby – speaking to the privilege of being the offspring of the wealthy, rich and famous elite. It's a term that has popped up in the mainstream recently and has been used specifically to refer to kids of celebrities – think Brooklyn Beckham, Kendall Jenner, Jaden and Willow Smith, Dakota Johnson, Nicola Peltz Beckham and Hailey Bieber.
- Mama Mia
When asked what she thinks about children of famous parents having had their successes handed to them Depp responded:"People are going to have preconceived ideas about you or how you got there, and I can definitely say that nothing is going to get you the part except for being right for the part. The internet cares a lot more about who your family is than the people who are casting you in things. 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."
"It's weird to me to reduce somebody to the idea that they're only there because it's a generational thing,"
Yeah right. Lily-Rose Depp's in a bit of self denial there.
There are of course, children of famous people who have made great careers and have contributed significantly to society, aided by an initial 'foot-up' from mum and dad but the majority aren't, generally because they just aren't very bright or have entitlement issues. Donald Trump's an example of a not very bright person who was kick-started into his 'career' by extremely wealthy parents. Maybe that's not a good example as this buffoon just seems to lose money all the time not unlike Elon Musk who inherited vast wealth and gets involved in grandiose schemes, not because he's super talented but more likely because he's super wealthy.
The aristocracy of the past that elevated their untalented, generally stupid and undeserving offspring to positions of power and influence has been replaced by dynasties of rich celebrities and politicos like the Kardashians, the Assads, the Putins, the Arab trillionaires and the Depp-like film stars. Social media allows this to happen and the originals - the film stars, the political bosses and the wealth creators in industry, IT and science - pass on their wealth and influence to indulged children who dilute the original platform and everything just gets dumbed down. Fresh ideas and creative individuals will find it harder and harder to breakthrough this layer of dross. The prognosis isn't great for the future.
