Recently, New York Magazine released a viral article about "nepotism babies" or "nepo babies" in Hollywood. A lot of famous offspring have weighed in, including Emily in Paris star Lily Collins, whose dad is Genesis lead singer Phil Collins.
Although she denied getting a "free pass" in the industry, fans think she's not aware of her privilege, unlike other "legitimately talented" celebrity kids who have accepted it.
But recently, fans thought it was "tone-deaf" of model-turned-actress Kaia Gerber — daughter of '90s supermodel Cindy Crawford — to embrace the label. Here's what Gerber has said about being called a nepo baby.
Did Kaia Gerber Get Her Modeling Career Due To Mom Cindy Crawford?
In a 2019 interview with Porter, Crawford said that she didn't "buy" Gerber her modeling career. However, she acknowledged that her daughter had "advantages" to get her a prestigious runway debut for Calvin Klein in New York in 2018.
"Kaia had some advantages," said the mother of two . "She is my daughter and people know that. But when people say that I bought her a cover of a magazine, I think, if I was going to buy a cover for someone, it would be me! If I could get someone into a fashion show, I would be getting it for myself."
She added that Gerber's career has new challenges that she didn't face back in her day.
"The thing that's different is that social media is part of the job," she explained. "We weren't constantly being photographed in what we were wearing to the show. There is more pressure to produce content every day. It's like a hungry little beast, an animal that wants more and more. It's never like, 'OK, you're good.'" Crawford also opened up about the social media trolls that attack her children for following in her footsteps.
"I can't believe how hateful people can be," she said. "As much as people put garbage on my Instagram, it doesn’t bother me. But when they do it to my kids I think, grrr. But you're not supposed to go after [the haters]. It's shocking. We're becoming more immune to it because people just lash out. We have to be so politically correct in one way. If you're not famous, you can say the most hateful stuff. God forbid you [as a celebrity] offend the wrong person."
What Does Kaia Gerber Feel About Being Called A 'Nepo Baby'?
In a new interview with Elle, Gerber owned up to her privilege but said that nepotism isn't "what people make it out to be."
When asked about the assumptions that she used her connections to become a model, she said:
"I won't deny the privilege that I have. Even if it's just the fact that I have a really great source of information and someone to give me great advice, that alone I feel very fortunate for."
She even said that her "mom always joked, 'If I could call and book a Chanel campaign, it would be for me and not you,'" admitting she that has also "met amazing people through my mom whom I now get to work with."
Gerber noted that it's a whole other thing in acting.
"With acting, it's so different. No artist is going to sacrifice their vision for someone's kid. That just isn't how art is made, and what I'm interested in is art," she claimed. "Also, no one wants to work with someone who's annoying, and not easy to work with, and not kind. Yes, nepotism is prevalent, but I think if it actually was what people make it out to be, we’d see even more of it."
Although the American Horror Story star gave an articulate response, fans thought it was "tone-deaf." They were particularly triggered by Gerber saying that at 21, she feels like she's "lived a whole life already" due to the "many changes" and "many massive things" she's gone through as a model. "What has her contribution to the world been? She is mistaken if she thinks whatever she has done in the last 3 years is a life," said a commenter, per Daily Mail.
Another one said: "Yes, you've lived a whole life of privilege where a 'problem' is a stain on your favorite Versace dress. Talk to us when you only have 20 dollars until payday and no gas in your car. She'd have never survived my life. These pampered, nepotism children have no idea what real life is."
Kaia Gerber Is Set To Be More Successful Than Her Mom Cindy Crawford
With the way Geber's career is going, as well as how it started, she's set to be more successful than her mom. Yes, she's likely to surpass Crawford's feat of being one of the richest models in the world. According to Forbes, the 56-year-old entrepreneur has an individual net worth of $225 million and a total of $400 million fortune with her husband.
But since her daughter signed with IMG at the young age of 13 while she started at 20, Gerber is already ahead in the game. Now worth $3 million, the Babylon star is on her way to building an empire of her own with acting, social media, stronger designer collaborations, and modeling contracts that have drastically increased in worth since her mom's time.
According to Grazia Magazine, "Gerber's earning potential is huge" as "the salaries of models had grown from a paltry $50 per hour in 1960 to as much as $20 000 a day in 1991 for the best known cover girls" who "could earn between $1 million and $2 million per year." They added that "in comparison, in 2016 Kylie Jenner signed a seven-figure deal with Puma as did her sister Kendall with the now infamous Pepsi ad the following year."
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