There have been talks about nepo babies (you know, nepotism babies, or rather famous people with famous parents) all year. We’ve heard from Lily-Rose Depp, who said she’s not a nepo baby, as well as Lily Collins who talked about her father’s fame and her career. However, the discussion blew up this week as an article about the topic went viral. Now, singer, songwriter, actress and daughter of an actor and a producer, Lily Allen not only tweeted about the discourse surrounding the nepo baby conversation, a story she told about her brother and why she didn't make a cameo on Game of Thrones has resurfaced.
How Lily Allen Fits Into The Nepo Baby Conversation
Allen caused quite a stir on Twitter the same day Vulture published its article “How a Nepo Baby is Born,” when she posted about nepo babies in the entertainment industry, writing:
The nepo babies y’all should be worrying about are the ones working for legal firms,the ones working for banks,and the ones working in politics, If we’re talking about real world consequences and robbing people of opportunity. BUT that’s none of my business.December 19, 2022
She then responded to her own tweet, saying she knows she’s a nepo baby, and that she “will be the first to tell you that [she] literally deserves nothing.”
The next day, she clarified what she said about nepo babies, and noted that she thinks its important to “disclose what a privileged” upbringing she’s had. You can read the full Twitter thread here:
Look, I seem to have riled people up with my comments about nepo babies. I am nearly 40 years of age and am more than happy, in fact I think it’s important to disclose what a privileged upbringing I’ve had and how that has created so many opportunities for me,December 20, 2022
The singer-songwriter, who is also married to David Harbour, definitely has a nuanced opinion about nepo babies, and she’s intertwined in the industry in lots of ways. Her father, Keith Allen has appeared in movies like Trainspotting and Kingsman: The Golden Circle. Her mother Alison Mary Owen has produced films like Brick Lane and Saving Mr. Banks. To top it off, her brother Alfie Allen has been part of the Game of Thrones and Jojo Rabbit casts, and it turns out Lily turned down an opportunity to star alongside him on the HBO fantasy series.
Why Lily Allen Said No To Game Of Thrones
During a Q & A on Reddit nine years ago a fan asked the singer about her brother Aflie Allen, and how she felt about him being on Game of Thrones as Theon Greyjoy. She responded by saying she was asked to make a cameo on the show, and play Theon’s sister Yara, but turned it down. The singer wrote about how uncomfortable it would have been to shoot the show with her brother, saying:
Well, that was about a 5 year disparity between the two! But I’ve been asked to do a Game of Thrones cameo, they asked me if I’d be interested in playing Theon’s sister, and I felt uncomfortable because I would have had to go on a horse and he would have touched me up and shit. Once they told me what was entailed, I said no thanks. I would be open to doing a musical cameo like Sigur Ros, though.
The comments noted that there was “too much incest in the show for real siblings to be involved,” which is not wrong there’s a lot of incest on both GOT and House of the Dragon, I mean just look at the Targaryen family tree. Lily Allen then responded, saying: “Agreed.”
Honestly, saying no to the show makes sense. To go through that scene where Theon touches his sister, almost an incestuous act, before realizing she’s his sister, and to be Alfie Allen’s actual sibling would have been so uncomfortable, it’s kind of like the nepo baby effect worked in the opposite direction here.
Considering the familial connection, it makes sense that Lily didn’t want to be on Game of Thrones, however, it would have been cool to see her on the HBO series in a cameo kind of like what Ed Sheeran did. It’s interesting that this story resurfaced following Allen’s comments on nepo babies, considering the benefit of being related to another famous person low-key worked against her when it came to Game of Thrones.
If you are interested in watching Lily Allen’s brother as Theon in GOT you can do so with an HBO Max subscription. And you can listen to Lily Allen’s hit music wherever you stream your tunes.
