Lily Allen Responds to Backlash Over Her Comments About "Nepo Babies"

Lily Allen defended her past comments telling people that they "should be worrying" about nepotism in politics and the legal world instead of children of Hollywood stars. Find out what she said.

By Kelly Gilmore Dec 20, 2022 10:01 PMTags
Watch: Will Smith & Jada Pinkett Smith's Niece Gets Candid on Nepotism

Lily Allen has more to declare.

As the discussion of nepotism in Hollywood continues to grow, the "Smile" singer—who is the daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen—recently voiced her opinions on "nepo babies," writing in a Dec. 19 tweet that "y'all should be worrying about are the ones working for legal firms, the ones working for banks, and the ones working in politics, If we're talking about real world consequences and robbing people of opportunity."

The remark was met with some backlash on social media, with one Twitter user commenting, "So go have those discussions then? No one is stopping you. But when a DIRECT BENEFICIARY of a problematic system points in the opposite direction and goes ‘Hey look over there!' I'm not willing to let them distract me."

Now, Lily is defending herself and clarifying her thoughts. "Look, I seem to have riled people up with my comments about nepo babies," she wrote in a Dec. 20 tweet. "I am nearly 40 years of age and am more than happy, in fact I think it's important to disclose what a privileged upbringing I've had and how that has created so many opportunities for me."

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Lily Allen's Famous Friends

Lily went on to explain that she now has a different insight into the topic than she previously did when she was in her 20s, an age where she said her familial relationship played into her opinion of her career.

"I felt like I worked extremely hard and that I deserved the success that I had, that people connected to my songs and that the songs came from me," she wrote in a separate Dec. 20 tweet. "I also had quite a fraught relationship with some of my family members so it felt difficult for me to attribute my successes to them, at the time."

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But despite finding success as a music artist who was born into a family of entertainment professionals, Lily feels fingers are pointing in the wrong direction.

"It is quite clear that there is a severe lack of representation in the industry where class and race are concerned. Everyone loses as a result," she wrote on Twitter that same day, adding in a follow-up message, "I do feel that nepo babies are being somewhat scapegoated here though, there is a wider, societal conversation to be had about wealth inequality, about lack of programs and funding."

Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images

Noting that "Nepo babies have feelings," Lily added that the discussion should be refocused.

"I promise you I'm not rooting for an industry full of people that had childhoods that looked like mine," she wrote. "I just really think that we can't get to a real solution without identifying the real problem, as fun as it is to laugh at the kids of famous people." 

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