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Nepo Babies Are Running the World, And Half of Them Don’t Even Want the Job
Hollywood, music, sports—you name it, nepotism runs the show. But what happens when the talent gene skips a generation? From celebrity kids coasting on last names to the industry doubling down on legacy hires, we’re breaking down how nepo babies went
We heard someone left a mess🧹
What is a nepo baby? You know one when you see it. Maybe it’s the boss’s son who got the summer internship without ever sending a résumé. He shows up late, does the bare minimum, and still gets invited to the after-work happy hour like he’s one of the guys.
Or maybe it’s your coworker’s niece who somehow landed the new gig over people who actually applied — and now spends half the day scrolling TikTok while you cover her workload.
Whatever the case, the whole thing leaves a sour taste in your mouth — because deep down, you know the game was rigged before it even started. But what happens when that same dynamic plays out on your TV screen?
How Does Nepotism Make You Feel?
Nepotism is so baked into our daily entertainment diet that you can’t even taste it anymore. It’s in your music. It’s in your movies. It’s in your government. But let’s not get too self-righteous about it — nepotism isn’t inherently evil.
Sometimes the apple doesn’t just fall close to the tree — it falls, rolls a little, and ends up cooking a better pie. Legacy families can breed generational greatness. The Marleys. The Mannings. The Knowles-Carters.
It’s not always a crime when talent runs in the bloodline. The real question is — are we watching the next wave of greatness unfold? Or are we just propping up a bunch of off-brand sequels because we recognize the last name on the credits?
But What Happens When the Talent Gene Skips a Generation?
But what happens when the talent skips a generation? What happens when the torch gets passed, but the flame doesn't quite catch? The hard pill to swallow is that entertainment runs on legacy, not just talent. We're not always paying for brilliance — sometimes we're footing the bill for potential that never pans out.
It’s the price of the package deal. You get the legend and, by default, their offspring's mixtape, album, or starring role. The audience is left front row, waiting to see if lightning can strike twice — knowing deep down that most of the time, it doesn't.
When lightning doesn’t strike twice, what we get is... polite applause. The kind of clapping that’s more out of respect for the family name than what’s actually happening on the stage or court. The audience learns to recalibrate their expectations in real time. What was once greatness gets grandfathered down into competence.
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North West takes the stage as Simba in The Lion King — the crowd cheers because, well... what else are they supposed to do? Bronny James clocks in his first G League triple-single, and every headline spins it as "steady improvement" instead of calling it what it really was — just okay.
These aren't failures. They're not even bad performances. They're just... fine. And maybe that's the real curse of nepotism — it leaves us clapping for something we know could never live up to what came before.
So How Do We Fix This Mess?
Honestly? We don’t. Because the sad truth is that when the crowd gets tired of clapping for mediocrity, the industry doesn't pivot — it doubles down. Nepotism doesn't just skip a generation... it creates dynasties of mid.
We end up with entire fields of entertainment clogged with lukewarm legacy hires — kids of kids — who never even wanted the job in the first place, but clock in every day because their last name is stitched onto the uniform.
The machine keeps running. The paychecks keep cashing. And the rest of us? We're left front row at a talent show nobody auditioned for.
Question of the day
Is nepotism a problem, if so why? Reply back to this email and we’ll feature you in next week’s mess.
That’s all for today!
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