After New York Magazine released its viral cover story on Hollywood’s nepo (short for nepotism) baby boom, celebrities all over the map seem to be falling into some sort of widespread meltdown. Stars like Lily Allen, Lottie Moss, Lily Collins, and even Jamie Lee Curtis are speaking out against being labeled as nepo babies, but let’s be real — it’s kind of hard to take their reactions seriously when they’re born with opportunities that most people could never even dream of having. Here’s why some celebs are pushing back against the “nepo baby” label, and why it’s kind of … bullshit.
“I have been a professional actress since I was 19 years old so that makes me an OG Nepo Baby,” Curtis wrote in a Dec. 23 Instagram post. As the daughter of famous actors Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, the Hollywood scream queen kicked off her film debut at 19 years old with the 1978 slasher film, Halloween — an instant classic. But Curtis insists that her privileged parentage has little to do with her success. "For the record I have navigated 44 years with the advantages my associated and reflected fame brought me, I don't pretend there aren't any, that try to tell me that I have no value on my own."
