Lily Allen has expressed her distaste for the term “nepo baby”, arguing that it’s sexist. The 39 year old singer, known for her hit song Smile, has often been labelled a nepo baby – a term used to describe individuals with influential parents who have helped them in their careers.
Lily and her brother Alfie Allen, famous for his role as Theon Greyjoy in Game of Thrones, are the offspring of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. Discussing her feelings about being referred to as a nepo baby, Lily recently stated: “Nepo babies, I think it’s quite like ‘Karen’, in the sense that it’s just a word that is basically used for women who are taking up space and we’d rather they didn’t and they should just go away.
On her Miss Me? Podcast, she further commented: “I’m called a nepo baby all the time. I actually don’t really mind the nepotism thing, it’s the “baby” that annoys me, it’s like, I’m 40 years old nearly!
“It’s meant to be infantilising. Also, I think it’s something that is almost exclusively used for women, I don’t think I can even really name any male nepo babies.”
The singer continued: “My brother, for instance, doesn’t get called nepo baby and I do. I feel like a lot of the time over the past 15, 20 years when I’ve been written about it will always say ‘Lily Allen, daughter of Keith Allen’ and I don’t see that happening with boys as often as it does with girls.”
She added that there was “an element of truth to it” due to her upbringing in the media industry saying, “I grew up in and amongst people that worked in media, and I don’t think I’ve ever really disputed that.
In an X post, she previously addressed nepotism stating: “The nepo babies 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. BUT that’s none of my business.
Aware of her privileged position, she informed her fans: “And before you come at me for being a nepo baby myself, I will be the first to tell you that I literally deserve nothing.”
