“I know there are people who’ll say I only got this role because of who my dad is.”<\/h2>\n
The debate surrounding nepotism in Hollywood has been going on for years and while it\u2019s clear that children of celebrities have an advantage in the entertainment industry, not all of these famous offspring feel that being called a \u201cnepo baby\u201d is a fair label. These up-and-coming stars say that they\u2019ve put in the work to earn their place — and sometimes, their famous families have actually made things harder for them. While the public may disagree, these stars reject the nepo baby label.<\/p>\n
Find out what these stars had to say about nepotism\u2026<\/p>\n
Patrick Schwarzenegger<\/h3>\n
Arnold Schwarzenegge<\/strong><\/a>r\u2019s son Patrick Schwarzenegger<\/strong><\/a> has landed quite a few major roles in Hollywood, but he doesn\u2019t want to be considered a nepo baby. He explained that he really doesn\u2019t like the label because he feels that he puts in just as much work as everyone else.<\/p>\n \u201cI know there are people who\u2019ll say I only got this role because of who my dad is. They\u2019re not seeing that I\u2019ve had ten years of acting classes, put on [high] school plays every week, worked on my characters for hours on end or the hundreds of rejected auditions I\u2019ve been on,\u201d he told The Times<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n As the niece of Julia Roberts<\/strong><\/a>, Emma Roberts <\/strong><\/a>acknowledges that people believe her career is based on nepotism. She disagrees, noting that if it were all about nepotism, she would have landed many more roles throughout her career.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people think that, and they talk about nepotism, which I think is so ridiculous considering it\u2019s obviously not true; because I\u2019ve auditioned for so many things and never gotten the part. Also it\u2019s like, you know, maybe someone can get you one part, but they can\u2019t really get you 10 parts,\u201d Emma once told Popeater<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/a> 13 Famous Parents Whose Children Have Big Age Gaps – Click image for related story<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Dakota Johnson<\/strong><\/a> hasn\u2019t held back when it comes to how much she dislikes the nepo baby label, despite coming from an acting dynasty family. Dakota, who says she was financially cut off by her famous father Don Johnson<\/strong><\/a> when she decided to pursue acting as a teen, has called the label \u201clame\u201d and boring.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen that first started, I found it to be incredibly annoying and boring,\u201d she shared on the <\/strong>TODAY<\/strong><\/em> show<\/strong><\/a>. \u201cLike, if you\u2019re a journalist, write about something else. It\u2019s just lame.\u201d<\/p>\n O\u2019Shea Jackson Jr., whose father is rapper and actor Ice Cube<\/strong><\/a>, has turned down the nepo baby label because he believes he put in the work to earn his career. Despite his breakout role being in his father\u2019s film, Straight Outta Compton<\/em>, O\u2019Shea says he still had to work as hard as everyone else.<\/p>\n \u201cI had to get my ass up and make it work. From the roles I chose. The work ethic I put into them. My professionalism on sets and promo tours. Even leaving HIS agency and goin to find a team of my own,\u201d he wrote on X<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/a> 7 Celebrity Kids Who Got Financially Cut Off – Click image for related story<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Lourdes Leon<\/strong><\/a> may be Madonna<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s eldest daughter but she says she\u2019s paved her own way — despite what other people may assume. In fact, she wanted to be independent from her mom as soon as possible and following her high school graduation, she started paying rent at her own apartment and covered her own college tuition.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople think I\u2019m this talentless rich kid who\u2019s had everything given to her, but I\u2019m not,\u201d she told Vogue<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n Lily Rose Depp,<\/strong><\/a> whose parents are Johnny Depp<\/strong><\/a> and Vanessa Paradis<\/strong><\/a>, says she\u2019s always rejected the label of nepo baby. Reflecting on her career, Lily Rose says it hasn\u2019t been easy and she\u2019s had to work even harder to prove she isn\u2019t just the child of a famous person.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is obviously a really easy assumption to make to think that I would just have roles landing on my doorstep because of my name, but that\u2019s an idea I\u2019ve always kind of rejected. I\u2019ve always been under the impression that I have to work twice as hard to prove to people that I\u2019m not just here because it\u2019s easy for me. I feel like you\u2019re not what your name is. If you\u2019re not right for something, they\u2019re not just going to hire you because your name looks good on the post,\u201d she told Australian <\/strong>Vogue<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n Zooey Deschanel<\/strong><\/a> may not be the first person you think of when you hear nepo baby but she does come from a family in entertainment. Her mother, Mary Jo Deschanel, starred on Twin Peaks <\/em>and her father, Caleb Deschanel, was a cinematographer.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s funny because people will be like, \u2018Oh, nepotism.\u2019 I\u2019m like, \u2018No.\u2019 My dad\u2019s a DP [director of photography]. No one\u2019s getting jobs because their dad\u2019s a DP. It\u2019s definitely not,\u201d she said on The School of Greatness <\/strong><\/em>podcast<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/a> 10 Famous Parents Who Never Thought They\u2019d Have Kids – Click image for related story<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Model Kate Moss<\/strong><\/a>\u2019 younger sister Lottie Moss<\/strong><\/a> faced backlash when she shared her thoughts about the nepo baby label. In a social media post, she wrote that she understands that it\u2019s not fair that some people are born into famous families — but people should stop using that as an excuse to not work hard.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m so sick of people blaming nepotism for why they aren\u2019t rich and famous or successful. Obviously it\u2019s not fair that people who come from famous families are getting a leg up because of that but guess what? Life isn\u2019t fair,\u201d she wrote in a now-deleted post on X<\/strong><\/a>. \u201cIf you put your mind to something you can accomplish anything! So instead of being negative about other peoples success go and try and create your own!\u201d<\/p>\n Katey Sagal<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s son, Tell Me Lies <\/em>actor Jackson White<\/strong><\/a>, absolutely \u201chates\u201d being called a nepo baby. The actress shared that her son doesn\u2019t want anything to do with the label and tries to separate himself from his famous family.<\/p>\n \u201cHe didn’t lean into any of that. You know, he has a different last name than me, and a lot of people don\u2019t know that he’s my kid, and he takes a lot of pride in that,\u201d she said<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/a> Nepo Babies Take Over NYFW: All the Must-See Sightings – Click image to open gallery<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nEmma Roberts<\/h3>\n
Dakota Johnson<\/h3>\n
O’Shea Jackson Jr.<\/h3>\n
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Lourdes Leon<\/h3>\n
Lily Rose Depp<\/h3>\n
Zooey Deschanel<\/h3>\n
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Lottie Moss<\/h3>\n
Jackson White<\/h3>\n
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