The Pop Corporation

Have you heard about ‘Nepo Babies’? It’s not really the best of names for the people who have had a leg-up in their careers thanks to having a famous parent or two (nepotism babies, geddit?), but honestly, you’re not getting any better alternatives here unless something pops into our head while we’re writing this article about it.

Anyway, the term reared up in a piece in Vulture. Basically, it features all those kids who are famous now, and grew up in a fancy-ass house and the struggle was indeed, not real. These starlets have had enough smoke blown up their behinds, but basically it’s some SNL writers, kids of actors and popstars, and the ones you’re most likely to have heard of are Dakota Johnson, Zoe Kravitz, Lily Rose Depp, Maya Hawke, Dan Levy and some others.

Of course, nepotism isn’t anything new is it? Liza Minelli anyone? Gwyneth Paltrow? Anjelica Huston? Michael Douglas? Josh Brolin? Keifer Sutherland? There’s loads, isn’t there? You think 3T would have been pushed quite so hard if they weren’t the offspring of The Jackson family? What do you mean you don’t remember 3T?

Let’s just say whoever was doing the eyebrow threading and contouring in that family had a look, and they’re invariably quite well off now, eh?

There’s been a bunch of nepotism in rock and pop. Norah Jones’ dad is Ravi Shakar. There’s Enrique Iglesias, and his dad, Julio. Whitney Houston got a helping hand from her very musical family, which includes Dionne Warwick and Cissy. Albert Hammond Jr from The Strokes – you’ll never guess what his dad is called – he had some doors opened. Daft Punk? Well, Thomas Bangalter’s pops was Daniel Vangarde, who just so happened to write ‘D.I.S.C.O.’ for Ottowan. There’s Rufus Wainwright, Myley Cyrus, and Karl Hyde from Underworld – his daughter is in Black Country New Road, who are so hot right now.

And perhaps funniest of all, is that LMFAO. The party rockers who are sexy and they know it are comprised of Redfoo and SkyBlu. Redfoo’s dad is Berry Gordy who IS Motown. SkyBlu’s dad, is Redfoo. Imagine, being partly responsible for Songs In The Key Of Life and What’s Going On?, and your latest legacy is that. Kinda funny.

Is it worth complaining about? Sure. Complaining about posh kids is funny. It’s even funnier when they defend themselves. Lily Allen, daughter of Keith Allen of course, has run a series of tweets about it all. And because two things can be true at the same time, she’s got a point.

“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,” she tweeted.”If we’re talking about real world consequences and robbing people of opportunity. BUT that’s none of my business.”

That’s true isn’t it? Political dynasties, hedge fund dicks and all that – they’re the real baddies. However, while we should go after that lot first come the revolution, in the meantime, we can have a good sneer about all those wealthy kids who got ahead by being able to be a little bit more canny in the marketing game of pop, and had the money to not toil away in some shit factory every night, while they chose music as a profession.

Has Lily Allen worked hard to get her place in pop history? Course she has. There’s loads of other ‘nepo babies’ in music who didn’t amount to squat. Can we have a bray and hoot at the whole thing to take our mind of the dismal geopolitical state of the world for a week? You bet. It’s all tomorrow’s chip-paper isn’t it?

Allen added: “I do feel that nepo babies are being somewhat scapegoated here though, there is a wider, societal conversation to be had about wealth inequality, about lack of programs and funding, and I guess that was the point I was trying to make, maybe badly. I promise you I’m not rooting for an industry full of people that had childhoods that looked like mine. I just really think that we can’t get to a real solution without identifying the real problem, as fun as it is to laugh at the kids of famous people. Nepo babies have feelings.”

She’s right, it is fun. That last line – you hope it’s tongue firmly in cheek, because yuck, otherwise. She was doing so well, too.

Elsewhere, on this not-really-that-thorny-topic-because-we’re-all-just-taking-the-piss-really, Anais Gallagher (Noel Gallagher) said it would be “tone deaf and irresponsible” if she didn’t admit the “leg up” her celebrity dad gave her. Good for her. Succinct, and to the point. Posh kids know exactly when to leave it at that don’t they? Wait. What’s that? There’s more? “There is justification around the hiring of nepotism babies – I think it’s not justified as an attack on somebody personally, and whether they themselves are a hard worker, because you don’t truly ever know anyone. I actually don’t think it’s kind to pass judgement on anyone you don’t know and to be mean about them.”

Don’t pass judgement on someone you don’t know and don’t be mean about them. Gotcher. Hope the ol’ dad and uncle are taking notes.

Lily Rose Depp got in on the action too. Surely, she’s all ‘sure – I got an understanding that creative industries can be a viable career path, thanks to creative parents. I’m very fortunate and I’ve never tried to hide it, all the while, trying to make it purely on my own merit. Nope. She heavily implied that the whole thing is sexist, which it may well be in many cases, but her dad is quite literally Johnny Depp and her mother, Vanessa Paradis. Oh, and interestingly, she got her first acting gig as a cameo in a film called ‘Tusk’, which happens to have been directed by Kevin Smith, and stars

Harley Quinn Smith, Kevin Smith’s daughter. Funny ol’ world isn’t it?

If we’ve learned anything from all this, is that, if we’re going to poke fun at some celebrity children for a bit, then we need to even things up and pick on the lads just as much as the lasses.

Our suggestion is that odious little toad, Prince Whatevertheirnameis, the child of Prince William. Leave Tracee Ellis Ross and Kate Hudson alone though, they seem really lovely.