When Nepo Babies Are Charming
Believe it or not, Gwyneth Paltrow is not self-made. Her mother is the actress Blythe Danner, and her dad is the director Bruce Paltrow. Paltrow’s success in acting and with her lifestyle brand Goop makes it easy to forget that she, too, is a nepo baby.
Paltrow often finds herself making news because of her outlandish health claims. She once promoted bee venom therapy and sold jade vaginal eggs despite gynecologists warning against it. But her recent court case has brought her back into the headlines for a different reason. Paltrow was sued by a Utah man who claimed she had caused a ski accident that left him with serious injuries.
Seventy-six-year-old retired optometrist Terry Sanderson sued Paltrow for $300,000 after he alleged that a collision with her in Park City, Utah in 2016 left him with substantial injuries. For reference, Paltrow’s brand Goop is reported to be worth over $250 million.
Paltrow at her 2023 ski collision trial.
Paltrow countersued for $1, claiming that the man actually barreled downhill into her, not seeing her until it was too late.
Most civil suits settle and certainly do not become newsworthy. So why are we so fascinated by celebrities, even when they're involved in legal disputes?
Well, Paltrow's court case has also reminded us of the extreme privilege that comes with being a celebrity. Sanderson’s legal team tried to depict Paltrow as an obscenely wealthy and out-of-touch celebrity. Instead of attempting to defend her image by appearing sympathetic and relatable to win the case, Paltrow leaned into the stereotypes. Dressed up in glamorous knit sweaters, Paltrow spent the trial largely unaffected, at one point even answering questions about her relationship with singer Taylor Swift.
As one writer noted for Vox, “This famous woman has a ridiculously affluent life. So it shouldn’t be shocking that some of her answers under oath reflect her extreme privilege.”
When asked by Sanderson’s attorney how the collision affected her, Paltrow replied, “Well, I lost half a day of skiing.”
It’s a laughable comment. While Sanderson suffered brain trauma, Paltrow lost half a day at a ski resort.
The internet loved it.
Another recent example of extreme privilege going viral is Romy Mars, the daughter of filmmaker Sofia Coppola and musician Thomas Mars. Romy recently became an internet sensation after a video of her being grounded for trying to charter her parent’s private helicopter went viral. The internet found the absurdity of it all, well, charming.
Conversations around nepo babies have taken center stage in the past year. Nepo babies are the children of famous or extraordinarily wealthy people. At a time when Gen Z has been acutely aware of power structures and dynamics, nepo babies pose a dilemma.
Are they successful by their own merit, or by the influence of their parents? Can people celebrate their accomplishments while also acknowledging the privilege that wealth and notoriety gave them? Do nepo babies just reflect a larger socioeconomic divide in America where the wealthy just keep getting wealthier?
Do we dislike nepo babies because we truly feel they don’t deserve their success, or because we are simply jealous of the ease with which they achieved it?
These are the questions surrounding Paltrow, Mars and many more.
The allure of nepo babies is hard to deny. They offer us a glimpse into the private lives of celebrities, and their charming personalities and antics can be a welcome distraction from the stresses of our own lives. Would Brooklyn Beckham’s photography book have received so much press if not for his last name? Would Kendall Jenner have become such a famous model if not for her Kardashian prestige?
Probably not.
Nepotism has always existed, but many see the nepo baby conversation as a sign that Gen Z is looking to create a world where inequality is acknowledged. When discussing nepo babies, Teen Vogue refers to a quote by the famous author Bell Hooks: “Privilege is not always negative, but we have to share our resources and take direction about how to use our privilege in ways that empower those who lack it.”
It is with this mentality that Gen Z views themselves, nepo babies and the world. While we love celebrity culture, we are also acutely aware of their impact.