Why are we so outraged by Nipo Babies? This is a question of particular interest to nepotism children, who have recently attracted a level of protest after a New York magazine article found children being foot-stomped by their famous parents, finding them both unnecessary and unfair. After all, they say, they can get a foot in the door, but then they have to work twice as hard and be twice as good, or at least prove themselves equal to the task. Cindy Crawford’s model daughter Kaia Gerber was the latest last week to vary the point, which has been repeated so many times by Napo kids over the decades that it’s become a proverb of sorts.
Let’s take issue with this maxim first. This is simply not true. The sons and daughters of the famous are supported in every way. The forces that motivated them in the first job—members of the industry wanting to please their parents—are still present in the second and third. No one would fire or underpromote the child of someone so important if it could possibly be helped: why is risk torpedoing your career? Instead, thresholds are lowered, sometimes literally (Lily-Rose Depp, Johnny’s daughter, only 5 feet 3 inches but a hugely successful model). And far from working harder to prove themselves, Napo Babies tend to fail upwards, over and over again. Björk’s daughter, Ísadora, had her big break at 17 with the film The Northman, which flopped. However, she signed a major modeling contract two months later. Give a Napo child a second or third chance and earn even more gratitude from those influential parents.
So, they are also protected from many of the worst obstacles that their peers have to face. No sane nepo would threaten or molest a child or get kicked out of the industry for all but the most heinous crimes. These lucky children can confidently step outside the normal parameters of behavior, which is a risk but can be an advantage in art. Ultimate industry babe Dakota Johnson (daughter of Don, and Melanie Griffiths) cleverly undermined Ellen DeGeneres on her own show, which boosted Johnson’s career but would have been a crazy move for a lesser-connected actor. In media, Nepo Babies can approach the unthinkable — best for web traffic — and stay in the game.
Well, who cares about having a good career if some sons and daughters meet the required standards? Does it really matter if it’s another equally beautiful girl, instead of Gwyneth Paltrow’s daughter, Apple Martin, who gets the job? Why do we practice so much about Nepo Baby?
Well, our outsized response can tell us something about the impact of unfair reward systems on us, wherever they appear. It turns out that they are poisonous. Stacks of research and business books tell us that knocking incentives even slightly out of alignment with achievement has a chilling effect on organizations — plunging workers into a kind of weary cynicism. A blatant instance of nepotism can infect an entire company, sending job satisfaction downhill, along with productivity. Top employees leave and others stop bothering to compete. And what is true of companies is also true of large industries, or societies. It’s better to see famous students battling it out in the arts than to see Gavin Williamson get a knighthood or City bosses to hand themselves a bonus in an average year. If the world’s glittering awards have so little to do with performance, what’s the point of even trying?
Isn’t it natural for parents to want to help their children? Yes, and this is the problem. Nepotism is hard to uproot because you’re fighting against a strong human instinct: parents dedicate their lives and fortunes to giving the tiniest head start. (Actor Felicity Hoffman risked — and got jailed for — giving her daughter an edge in college admissions.) It would be weird if celebrity parents didn’t call their son a favor in casting. And in jobs where ability is rather subjective and connections are everything, it’s perfectly reasonable for decision-makers to hire relatives of famous people. Cast a Nepo kid in your play and their parents might come to opening night, ask their friends to support it, or give you a personal favor afterward.
In fact, all incentives are aligned with nepotism. Until the late 1800s most jobs were simply inherited – and the top end of professions such as sports and politics thickened with the sons of the wealthy and connected. Lenny’s daughter Zoë Kravitz recently told GQ: “It’s totally normal for people to be in the family business. It literally comes from last names. If your family is like a black family, you were a blacksmith.
He is right, nepotism is perfectly normal. Which makes the merits of the last century or so an amazing achievement. There are wonderful exceptions within the broad sweep of history where societies where talent can rise to the top, but are harder fought and more vulnerable than we can imagine. We realize this, perhaps why we react so strongly to the views of hereditary actors and politicians. Napo babies are bad for all of us.