Brooklyn Beckham has sparked a debate about nepotism after he appeared to insinuate that he was able to afford his $1.2m sports car through his career as an aspiring chef.
The eldest son of David and Victoria Beckham discussed his red McLaren P1 sports car, which was one of just 375 models produced, as well as what he “does for a living” while appearing in a recent video with TikTok influencer Daniel Mac.
Mac, who goes by the username @itsdanielmac on the app, is well known for his TikTok series which sees him approach the drivers of luxury cars to ask what they do for a living.
In a video uploaded on Monday, Mac unwittingly approached the 23-year-old son of the former Spice Girls singer and athlete, who was driving his sports car in Los Angeles, California. In the clip, Mac began by issuing his standard greeting, asking Beckham: “Hey man, what do you do for a living? Your car is awesome.”
In response, Beckham revealed that he recognised the TikToker, before telling Mac: “I’m a chef.”
“You’re a chef?! Really? Are you, like, the best chef in the world?” Mac proceeded to ask Beckham, to which the 23 year old said he was “trying to be”.
Mac, who appeared not to recognise Beckham, then asked him what his “chef name” is, at which point Beckham said: “My name’s Brooklyn.”
The video concluded with Mac asking Beckham to share any advice he has for those hoping to learn more about cooking, prompting the former aspiring photographer to encourage people to follow their passions. “Just follow your passion, whatever makes you happy,” he advised.
In the comments under the TikTok, which has since been viewed more than 2.6m times, Mac confirmed that he hadn’t recognised Beckham while recording the video. “100 per cent did not recognise him at first,” he wrote. “Took this video on Rodeo Drive randomly last week.”
As for the reaction to Beckham’s comments, the response has been mixed, with many viewers mocking the 23 year old for suggesting that his career as a budding chef allowed him to purchase his $1m sports car. While Beckham has an impressive estimated net worth of $10m, he comes from an extremely wealthy family, with his famous mother and father each boasting a net worth of $450m.
“Born into a multimillionaire family and now married a billionaires’s daughter. But he’s a chef!!” one person commented, in reference to Beckham’s recent marriage to Nicola Peltz, the daughter of billionaire Nelson Peltz and former supermodel Claudia Peltz.
Another person said: “Not him pretending being a chef got him that car… Brooklyn, please.”
“He would have gone up in my estimation if he had been honest and said my mum is Posh Spice,” someone else claimed.
Others joked that Beckham is “David Beckham’s son for a living,” while there were also TikTok users who noted that the career title of chef is a relatively new one for the 23 year old, who has dabbled in careers ranging from modelling to photography in the past few years.
After playing soccer for the Arsenal Football Club until he was 16, Beckham enrolled in New York’s Parsons School of Design in 2017 to pursue a degree in photography. He later published a book of photographs titled: “What I see.”
Following a modelling stint, the aspiring chef revealed during a recent interview with Variety that he ultimately realised cooking is his true passion, and that his other career aspirations were simply hobbies.
“They were kind of all hobbies. I was still trying to find that one thing I would literally die for, and I found that with cooking,” Beckham told the outlet during an interview for its Power of Young Hollywood issue, where he also noted that his dream is to one day open a pub in Los Angeles, and possibly release a line of his “own sauces, knives, pots and pans”.
“I’m a chef but was a photographer like one week ago,” one viewer joked, while another said: “Wasn’t he a photographer last week?”
However, there were also those who defended Beckham from the criticism on the basis that he earns his own money now, and cannot help who his parents are.
“People need to realise he earns his own money now… famous parents might have helped him get into his work, but so what, not his fault his parents are rich and famous,” one person claimed, while someone else praised Beckham’s “humble” attitude. “Bless him, he didn’t even mention his surname or background… how humble,” they wrote.
During the interview with Variety, Beckham addressed the mocking criticism he’s faced since he began pursuing his latest career, with the 23 year old telling the outlet that he wishes his critics “well”.
“I always wish them well, the haters,” he said. “I’m just doing what I love doing, staying healthy, being happy, and that’s what it is.”
