Lily Allen has responded to criticism of "nepo babies" following the publication of New York magazine's cover feature.
On Monday, editors published "How a Nepo Baby is Born", which reflected on how the two words "nepo baby" became the popular way to describe the children of celebrities or powerful figures. It contained a chart showing celebrities and their familial connections within the showbiz industry, prompting a buzzy discussion on the topic on social media.
The Smile singer, who is the daughter of actor Keith Allen and producer Alison Owen, weighed in via Twitter on Monday night by arguing that nepotism is a bigger issue in other industries.
"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 (sic)," she wrote.
She later added, "And before you come at me for being a nepo baby myself, I will be the first to tell you that I literally deserve nothing."
When one user noted that both her parents have their own Wikipedia pages, she replied, "Because I’m a nepo baby, and both my parents are super talented."
Another user explained that nepo babies are OK if they are aware of their own privilege and Lily responded by insisting children of famous people are probably still dealing with "childhood trauma".
"In childhood we crave stability and love, nurturing,we don’t care about money or proximity to power yet. Many of the nepo babies are starved of these basic things in childhood as their parents are probably narcissistic (sic)," she explained. "And entertainment business is not parent friendly eg.. Touring/ months away shooting. It can be hard to see one’s own privilege when you’re still processing childhood trauma, and a lot of these kids haven’t figured that out yet."
Lily's younger brother Alfie Allen is also an actor, best known for Game of Thrones.
