'He's a Nepo Baby': Son of successful entrepreneur gets defensive over awkward family dinner

Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor

Jan 5, 2023 8:00 AM EST

This Holiday season, it seems that families were arguing about nepotism. In case you live under a rock, the viral New York Magazine cover focused on the successful children of celebrities in Hollywood and the systemic flaws within this system. Obviously, Hollywood is not the only institution where nepotism can play a factor in someone's success or lack thereof, and so as it turns out, people can get pretty testy about the topic.

With this story, which was posted via this thread on Reddit's r/AmITheA**hole subreddit by u/Legacy-Ad8754, it turns out the Redditor works for his father's business. When the entire extended family gathered for New Years, his brother-in-law's wife made a potentially insensitive remark about how she wanted to see the Redditor's take on the article. Since he feels that his situation is wildly different from that of actors and actresses in Hollywood, he found the comparison to be empty and refused to explore the conversation further.

Yet herein lies the issue, my friends. Sure, it might have been a bit much to put a nepo baby in the hot seat at a family dinner. However, if the Redditor truly felt like his experience was different from that of celebrities, why did he get so incredibly defensive? No one is saying that nepo babies don't have talent or skills that have earned them work. It's not just a question of ability, though. It's a question of opportunity. On that note, if nepo babies continue to remain so defensive that no one can discuss the topic broadly (yes, we're talking about you, Kate Hudson and Jamie Lee Curtis), then the subject will continue to be insufficiently unpacked and the nepo babies themselves will come across as, well, insecure and/or blind. In other words, ignoring the topic entirely is a lose-lose for both parties. What do you think about discussing nepotism at the dinner table?

Keep scrolling below for the original story. For more, check out this family gathering gone wrong.