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'Nepo baby' Willow Smith says people are wrong in thinking her success is 'because of my parents'

Home> Celebrity> News

Published 09:38 3 May 2024 GMT+1

'Nepo baby' Willow Smith says people are wrong in thinking her success is 'because of my parents'

Willow Smith has explained the reasons why she isn't a nepo baby despite being the daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck

Willow Smith has hit back at claims she's a nepo baby arguing her parents aren't the 'only reason' she's successful.

With multiple creatives having come forward to reject being labelled a 'nepo baby' such as Zooey Deschanel and Maya Rudolph, Willow Smith has now entered the discussion.

The 23-year-old - full name Willow Camille Reign Smith - is a singer and actor, alongside also being the daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith.

She's starred in I Am Legend alongside her dad, but also flew from the nest solo for The Lorax and has since gone on to carve out a career in the music industry after releasing her first iconic track 'Whip My Hair' in 2010.

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But would she have made it in each industry had it not been for her famous parents?

The question - and whether it's fair to call Willow a nepo baby - has been highly debated on social media.

One X user said: "Jaden and Willow Smith are the most respected nepo babies in my eyes."

However, another argued: "Yes Willow Smith is a nepo baby, but she’s STILL a prodigy, 2 things can be true at once!"

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And Willow has since opened up about the labelling.

Willow Smith has a pretty famous family to say the least (Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)
Willow Smith has a pretty famous family to say the least (Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)

In an interview with Allure, Willow voiced she doesn't believe she quite fits the description of a nepo baby.

And just so we're all clear on the exact definition of a 'nepo baby' - a.k.a. nepotism baby - the Oxford Collins Dictionary states the definition of nepotism is: "The unfair use of power in order to get jobs or other benefits for your family or friends."

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But with Will Smith as her dad and Jada Pinkett Smith as her mom, what impact does Willow think that's had on her as a person and her success?

Well, she tells Allure she 'truly' believes her 'spirit is a strong spirit' and even if her parents 'weren't who they were' she'd 'still be a weirdo and a crazy thinker'.

Willow Smith at Paris Fashion Week this year (Edward Berthelot/Getty Images)
Willow Smith at Paris Fashion Week this year (Edward Berthelot/Getty Images)

She continues: "I definitely think that a little bit of insecurity has driven me harder because people do think that the only reason I'm successful is because of my parents.

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"That has driven me to work really hard to try to prove them wrong.

"But nowadays, I don't need to prove s**t to anybody."

*Mic drop*

On a more serious note, she also said she's still had to fight against racist attitudes in spite of her famous parents, adding: "There have been some experiences where I went into a place that I have worked in the past and my picture could even be up on the wall, and they treat me like, ‘This is a little bit out of your price range’ or ‘You don't really belong here.'

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"Being Black in America, even with privilege, which I'm never going to deny that I have, you're still Black."

Featured Image Credit: Pierre Mouton/Getty Images for Acne, Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic via Getty

Topics: Celebrity, Social Media, Twitter, US News, Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, Music

Poppy Bilderbeck
Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.

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