Hailey Bieber’s ‘Nepo Baby’ Shirt and the Ignorance of Celebrity Privilege
“Slut”, “nigga”, “bitch”, “fag”, “dyke”.
Over the decades, marginalised groups have rebelled against their objectification by reclaiming words and terms meant to keep them down.
These words have become part of their identity in a way to take power away from the oppressor, adding them to everyday conversation, in their social media handles and even wearing them boldly on their clothes. Unfortunately, it seems Hailey Bieber had a similar idea when she put on a ‘nepo baby’ crop top to walk the streets of Los Angeles on January 6.
Photo: Hailey Beiber by Rachpoot/Bauer-Griffin
“Nepo baby” is short for nepotism baby.
It’s a Gen Z buzzword for children of the (mostly white) rich and famous who have had opportunities opened for them since birth, regardless of if they have the skill or talent for it. Some of the more popular nepo babies are the Hadid sisters, Maya Hawke and our current headliner, Hailey Bieber, who got her nepo baby status by being the daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin, who is brother to another celebrated actor Alec Baldwin.
The Twitterati has been dragging the children of the Hollywood elite who, outside of their parents, have built a household name brand for themselves in the entertainment industry. The sentiment is that even without real talent in their chosen profession, nepo babies have all the opportunities and chances offered up to them for simply existing in the families they do.
Although, on the topic of nepo babies, the Twitterati could reach the consensus that a few of them truly have the talent and have worked hard to get where they are. A simple and obvious example is the Hadids: Gigi and Bella. The two models got into the industry at young ages, Bella at 16 and Gigi as a child model at 2 with her first runway debut at 18 under the guidance of their controversial yet brilliant mother Yolanda Hadid.
(L-R) Bella, Yolanda and Gigi Hadid at Off-White's Runway at the 2020 Paris Fashion Week
The pair are trailblazers in the modelling industry for their gorgeous editorials and awestricking runway walks. In fact, they are often compared to fellow nepo baby Kendall Jenner who, over the years, has been bashed for not having a great runway walk.
Recently though, the heat seems to have been settling on Kendall with a much improved walk and even viral shots of her on the runway to garner applause. Unfortunately, the heat has transferred to Hailey, even more so since the nepo baby t-shirt pictures surfaced on Twitter.
There are two things to analyse in relation to the controversial t-shirt. Although it was bound to make headlines, I think the timing of its appearance is suspectly insensitive.
In November 2022, Johnny Depp’s daughter, Lily Rose Depp shared her thoughts on the ‘nepo baby’ agenda. In an interview with Elle, she said:
“The internet seems to care a lot about that kind of stuff. People are going to have preconceived ideas about you or how you got there, and I can definitely say that nothing is going to get you the part except for being right for the part,” She further adds, “The internet cares a lot more about who your family is than the people who are casting you in things. Maybe you get your foot in the door, but you still just have your foot in the door. There’s a lot of work that comes after that.”
Lily has two insanely famous parents, Johnny Depp and French celebrity Vanessa Paradis who, due to their fame, got a Chanel deal at 16 with many modelling and acting opportunities and gigs to come with, so her little 2 cents didn’t bode well with a lot of people. Not just Twitter users, but even fellow models had a lot to say on her aloofness.
Vittoria Ceretti was the first to speak on the issue through her Instagram story. The 24-year-old Italian model highlighted how she understood that Lily Rose Depp would face rejection just like the rest of them and how she had to work hard to get to where she was, but that she also shouldn’t forget the immense privilege like being able to meet her family afterward to comfort her.
“I have many nepo baby friends whom I respect, but I can’t stand listening to you compare yourself to me. I was not born on a comfy sexy pillow with a view. I know it’s not your fault, but please, appreciate and know the place you came from.”
After her, many models reposted her story and even shared their own thoughts and experiences, mostly Black female models like Anok Yai, a South Sudanese refugee who went viral from a picture of her at Howard University’s homecoming.
“I know you work hard and have your struggles like the rest of us, but goddamn if you only knew the hell we go through to stand in the same room that you were born in.”
Many other models joined the bandwagon including Nyagua Ruea who spoke from the perspective of white privilege and how Black models have it even harder than their White non-nepo baby counterparts.
And while this discussion obviously doesn’t directly affect Hailey, it can be almost impossible to suspect she had no clue the discourse was on going. So raises the question on whether it was pure insensitivity or what most suspect as an avenue to stay relevant in the media.
Banking off of her attempt to claim and rename brown lip liner, a staple in makeup to Black and Brown women for decades, Hailey sits in a heated part of the respective communities and this recent ordeal has worsened her appeal to them.
Hailey might have worn the shirt to stay on the defensive sides of things, but who knows? Surely, she has worked hard over the years and faced many challenges in the course of her career and has absolutely no need to feel shame for being called a ‘nepo baby’. So she decided to reclaim the term and own it like Black artists reclaimed the n-word through rap music.
But the difference between her and the latter group is that she seems to misunderstand the political and economic impact the n-word had on Black Americans and Africans in general. Whole studies were formulated on how the Black person is less than human and reclaiming that one word took power away from the oppressor.
The term ‘nepo baby’ is an internet slang with no actual implications on Hailey's civic perception and that of other nepo babies. Inscribing it on a t-shirt was a political statement, as has been done so many times in history by the oppressed or even just targeted celebrities to strike more controversy, but doing it while cushioned by all that privilege wasn’t needed, nor was it the fashion statement she thought it was.
