Life’s unfair and nepo babies are the epitome of it. With the rise of nepo babies – a term used to call out a generation of famous kids benefitting from nepotism due to having industry famous parents – in mainstream culture, the hate towards them has only grown steeper. This can clearly be seen with our latest TikTok covering the rise of Iris Law, daughter of actor Jude Law and actress Sadie Frost, where you guys went in on the comments.

Lily Rose Depp, daughter of actor Johnny Depp and singer Vanessa Paradis, Maya Hawke, daughter of actress Uma Thurman and actor and director Ethan Hawke, and even Kendall and Kylie Jenner, born into the empire built by their older Kardashian sisters, nepo babies are everywhere, in all industries. Using their connections handed to them by their families, nepo babies are often criticised for not having worked for their success. In Iris Law’s case, @grandhotel101 was quick to point out she is a “Nepooooooooo” baby. Just the title is enough to say it all.

While @jesswharehingo took the subject lightly by commenting “Can’t relate” with a laughing emoji, @aylarayofficial was less forgiving by announcing that “Nepotism isn’t cool”. When it comes to nepotism babies, although we may be a little bit jealous, it isn’t the fact that they were born into their families that bothers most people – that is something no one can help. It is more of the fact that opportunities are handed to them just because of their family names, and even more so, some nepo babies don’t recognize that privilege.

While it would take us normal folk years of hard work and dedication and sheer luck with that top executive Hollywood director or that high fashion designer, nepo babies naturally have the status to be hired for that job. That is not to say all nepo babies are bad and can do no good. As @vampiresh4wty said “say what u want about her but when she showed her acne in her vogue beauty secrets vid it [actually] made me feel [so much] better [about] my own acne”. Sure, most of us will never have the chance to feature on such a platform but this just goes to show how a celebrity can use their audience to create a safe and more understanding space for things like acne.

Just like any other influencer or celebrity, nepo babies are bound to receive hate just as much as they do appraisal. Iris Law still has a dedicated fanbase that includes @rougekillaa who thinks “She’s that girl” and @mooosese who looks at her as an “icon”. The ratio of love versus hate towards nepo babies seems to rely on two things: the quality of their work and their acknowledgment of their privilege. While the first reasoning seems antiquated, with recent societal efforts reminding us that we are worth more than our work, the second one feels fairer.

Lily Rose Depp was recently bashed online after an interview in which she compared herself to a child of doctors wanting to pursue a career in medicine, saying they both have to work just as much, whereas Bella Hadid is respected for using her platform to fight social injustices like her Free Palestine activism, or Gracie Abrams who has acknowledge that being the daughter of J.J. Abrams has given her so many opportunities while still trying to make a name for herself. 

So will we ever get over the nepo baby phenomenon? Considering many still refuse to accept the fact that their career opportunities would not have been given to them if it weren’t for their parents, probably not. But does the online bashing and name calling help the situation? Probably not either.

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