There have been a lot of takes lately on the advantages given to so-called “nepo babies” in the entertainment industry. From Lily-Rose Depp denying that her jobs are a result of nepotism to Gwyneth Paltrow saying it made her career harder to Hailey Bieber proudly wearing the title, a number of celebrities’ children and their famous parents have thrown their two cents into the discussion. One of the latest to join the discourse is Kaia Gerber, who, like her mother Cindy Crawford, is a supermodel, and her take is possibly the most honest yet.
The nepo baby argument basically suggests that children who follow their parents into the entertainment industry already have a foot in the door. That doesn’t seem to be a stance that Kaia Gerber refutes at all. As the daughter of Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber (who co-founded Casamigos tequila with George Clooney), she fully acknowledges that there are advantages to her mom being a veteran in the business. She gave a refreshingly honest answer to an inquiry about people making assumptions about her career, telling Elle:
I won’t deny the privilege that I have. Even if it’s just the fact that I have a really great source of information and someone to give me great advice, that alone I feel very fortunate for. My mom always joked, 'If I could call and book a Chanel campaign, it would be for me and not you.' But I also have met amazing people through my mom whom I now get to work with.
Kaia Gerber said her privilege lies more in having a parent who knows the industry so thoroughly and can therefore give her advice, rather than getting her booked on jobs. It is pretty funny that Cindy Crawford says if it were as easy as making a phone call, she’d book her own jobs that way. (Although I’m not convinced she can’t. Who’s out there turning down Cindy-freaking-Crawford?)
The 21-year-old went on to say there are limitations to nepotism, particularly when it comes to acting. She explained:
With acting, it’s so different. No artist is going to sacrifice their vision for someone’s kid. That just isn’t how art is made, and what I’m interested in is art. Also, no one wants to work with someone who’s annoying, and not easy to work with, and not kind. Yes, nepotism is prevalent, but I think if it actually was what people make it out to be, we’d see even more of it.
There’s a valid argument to be made in that regard. With so many millions of dollars being spent to make movies and TV shows, and so much on the line for the entire cast and crew — not to mention the artistic direction, as Kaia Gerber pointed out — there still has to be talent in the folks who are getting hired.
Kate Hudson, whose whole family is in the business, also brushed off the nepotism talk, saying it’s way more prevalent in other industries. Tom Hanks also referred to acting as a “family business,” saying that all four of his children are involved in storytelling in defense of his son Truman Hanks being cast as a younger version of his character in A Man Called Otto. And it should come as a surprise to no one that Whoopi Goldberg and the rest of The View had strong opinions about nepotism as well.
The nepotism conversation isn’t likely to go anywhere, but it’s always refreshing to hear someone broach the topic with honesty and thoughtfulness like Gerber did.
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