Stellan Skarsgard said in an interview with Vulture that her 13-year-old son is bullied at school because his father is an actor. “Cruel Children” refer to their children as “nepobabies,” which has become a universal term for children of famous parents.
“My youngest son, Korbjorn, who is 13, is suffering from it,” Skarsgård said. “When his friends at school call him Nepobaby, he gets very sad. He has no friends at school. He becomes isolated. Cruel kids, or cruel and ignorant kids. But that’s so bullshit, because if you’re not good enough, no one will hire you for at least something good.”
While the internet has largely been vocal against Nepo’s baby, industry insiders dispute the idea that having famous parents will lead to career longevity. Jennifer Aniston recently told the Armchair Expert podcast that it’s natural for children to want to follow in their parents’ footsteps, and that trend extends far beyond the entertainment industry. Aniston’s father is the late John Aniston, who starred on the soap opera “Days of Our Lives” for nearly 40 years.
“I mean, look at all the law firms. Blanky blank, blanky, and blanky blank. I mean, okay, isn’t that the whole family version? It’s the whole family,” Aniston said. “So maybe you got in the door because you’re so-and-so’s kid, but what if it sucks? You’re not going to keep doing it.”
Kate Hudson, the daughter of actors Goldie Hawn and Bill Hudson, told The Independent in 2022 that she was brushing off all the backlash over Nepo Baby, explaining: “When I look at my kids, we’re a family that tells stories. It’s definitely in our blood. People can call it what they want, but it doesn’t change that.”
“I actually think there are other industries where it’s[more common],” Hudson continued. “Modeling? I feel like I work in business a lot more than in Hollywood. Sometimes in business meetings I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, who’s this kid? This guy doesn’t know anything!'” I don’t care where you’re from or what your connection to business is. If you work hard and sacrifice it, it doesn’t matter. ”
Jamie Lee Curtis, the daughter of actors Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, also posted on Instagram around the same time that the discourse on the topic was designed to hurt.
“I’ve been a professional actress since I was 19, so I’m the OG Nepo baby,” Curtis wrote. “I never understood what qualifications I was hired for that day, and I never will, but from the time I wrote the first two lines in ‘Quincy’ as a contract player at Universal Studios to this wonderful creative year some 44 years later, there is not a day in my professional life that I am not reminded of the fact that I am the daughter of a movie star. The current conversation about Nepo Baby only seeks to degrade, denigrate and undermine.”
Skarsgård has been making waves in the press for his new film, “Sentimental Value,” since its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May. The drama, directed by “The Baddest Man in the World” director Joachim Trier, tackles the theme of dead Nepo babies as Skarsgård plays a legendary director at odds with his actress daughter.
Read Skarsgård’s full interview with Vulture here.
