Nepotism, a major topic that has been trending on social media platforms, is the practice of favoring friends and family for jobs. It has recently become a topic of debate regarding up-and-coming stars who may have gained an advantage in their show business careers through nepotism..

Celebrities such as Kendal Jenner, Bella and Gigi Hadid, Zoe Kravitz, Maya Hawke, Dakota Johnson, Lily-Rose Depp, and Maude Apatow all fall under the “nepo babies” category as their fame is seen as directly related to their parent’s fame.

Bella Hadid, an American model, has been tagged as a “supermodel” after the most recent fashion show season, but many feel she has not earned that label as she had an easier road into the business because her mother Yolanda Hadid is a former model and a current reality television star and her father is a well-known real estate developer.  “I think [other models] had to work their way up the ladder unlike Bella Hadid who had a head start to her career,” Olympic Heights sophomore Emma Mizne commented. 

On the other hand, many fans believe that there are those nepo babies who have proven their talent even though they may have had an easier path into show business through their parent’s fame. Apatow, Hawke, and Johnson have been put in the spotlight as individuals that one may  classify as nepo babies, but have established themselves as talented actors in their own right.

Apatow, daughter of director, producer, screenwriter, comedian Judd Apatow and actor Leslie Mann,  has spoken out about being a nepo baby and how it has affected her career.. “I’ve acted in so many of my parents’ movies, and people are going to say it’s nepotism. I mean, it’s not even an insult – well, it is an insult, but it is what it is,” she remarked

With the better odds at celebrity that come with being a nepo baby, comes the negative side of the resentment and even hatred that some fans hold. Jenner is one of the highest-paid models in the world and has been in the spotlight for years, but many people feel her fame is only a result of being the child of Caitlyn (formerly Bruce) Jenner and Kris Jenner. 

When Kendall Jenner was asked about using her family to get ahead in the modeling industry, she stated, “I mean I literally went to the middle of nowhere for castings, and I feel that I definitely worked my way to where I am now. I think it’s just a perception that people have that I was like, ‘give it to me’ and I had it. It definitely was not that.”

Nevertheless, Kendall Jenner has been a model for eight years, but there are many in the industry who feel her work is not up to the standard of established supermodels such as Noami Cambell and Gisele Bündchen. 

Being born into a family with extreme economic and social wealth can make the competition unfair to other unfortunate people. Children of celebrities who are not exactly great at their job might be treated amazingly just because of their parents, while some individuals that deserve that satisfaction have to work harder for it.

On whether or not nepo babies have an advantage in the industry, OH sophomore Brooke Smith comments, ¨Yes, because they are growing up in a privileged lifestyle where they have a world of opportunities offered to them in a blink of an eye.”