Gwyneth Paltrow is used to having a unique take on things (look no further than her vagina-scented candles). And, while we’ve grown to love her wacky outlook on certain things, her latest opinion might just be the most controversial of all.
While appearing on an episode of Hailey Bieber’s YouTube series, Who’s In My Bathroom?, the pair got onto the subject of children with famous parents, with both Paltrow and Bieber being well-versed in that area. Bieber, who is the daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin, asked Paltrow how her parents’ fame might’ve impacted her rise to fame.
The 49-year-old actress, who is the daughter of actress Blythe Danner and late director Bruce Paltrow, argued that celebrity children are not as advantaged in Hollywood as some would believe.
“As the child of someone, you get access other people don’t have, so the playing field is not level in that way,” she said.
“However, I really do feel that once your foot is in the door, which you unfairly got in, then you almost have to work twice as hard and be twice as good because people are ready to pull you down and say ‘You don’t belong there’ and ‘You are only there because of your dad or your mom’, or whatever the case may be.”
Paltrow didn’t stop there, moving on to give advice to fellow nepotism babies and urging them not to let the negative opinions of others impact their lives.
“It shouldn’t limit you because what I believe is that nobody in the world, especially somebody who doesn’t know you, should have a negative impact on your path or the decisions that you make,” she said.
“I agree, I need to hear this today,” Bieber replied, with a smile.
The concept of ‘nepotism babies’ blew up earlier this year, when Euphoria fans discovered that Maude Apatow, who plays the down-to-earth, girl-next-door character is actually the child of two very famous people — actress Leslie Mann and director Judd Apatow.
Whether it’s obvious people like the Jenner and Hadid sisters or more subtle stars like Dakota Johnson and Maya Hawke, there’s a lot of nepotism babies in Hollywood and its raising crucial questions about the fairness of the industry, particularly when it comes to promoting new talent.
Despite people taking issue with the believed leg up that nepo babies have, many have spoken out about their perceived disadvantages, with Kendall Jenner arguing that her fame made it “harder” for her to succeed in the modelling industry.
“Of course I had a platform, and I never took that for granted,” she said, during a reunion special of Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
“I always knew that that was there, but that almost made my job a little bit harder. Only because people probably didn’t want to hire me because I was on a reality TV show.”
Nepo baby or not, there’s no denying that Hollywood is brimming with young talent right now, but as for whether they got their entirely on their own merit… that’s up to the court of public opinion.
