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

Advertisement
  • 01
    Facial expression - "She said that since I work for my dad and was basically handed a job when I graduated college that I was technically a nepotism baby."
  • 02
    Font - AITA for taking a 'nepotism baby' joke too personally? Not the A-hole At our family NYE get together, the topic of nepotism came up. I'm assuming it's something on the top of some people's minds as a result of the New York Magazine cover. I (27m) had seen some buzz about it online but I can't say I had given it much thought myself - the number of celebrities I care about is a small one and there's a good chance I don't know anything about their family tree.
  • 03
    Font - Because of lack of interest, I didn't participate in the initial conversation. The topic was brother-in-law's brought up my by wife, and I listened for a while before turning to a conversation with my husband. After a few minutes, my BIL's wife said something along the lines of "I want to know OP's thoughts on this since he's a nepo baby." It was said somewhat jokingly, but I was still confused so I asked her to explain.
  • 04
    Font - She said that since I work for my dad and was basically handed a job when I graduated college that I was technically a nepotism baby. I replied saying it was a little ridiculous to group me in with actors and models making millions on their parents' name when my husband and I were just regular people working to support ourselves and each other. She said it was beyond just 'regular people working to support themselves' when I made [$$$] in a year.
  • 05
    Font - I thought the whole thing was wildly inappropriate to be discussing in front of all these people, and I told her so. She said it was just a joke and I was overreacting. The atmosphere was obviously a little tense following that, and she all but forced my BIL out the door before the night was even over. There were mixed feelings after she left of people saying I took the joke too personally and people saying she went too far. AITA?
  • 06
    Font - deadstar420 22 hr. ago NTA she was out of line, however she was correct, your situation is definitely nepotism, it doesn't just apply to celebrities. 10.4k Reply Share
  • 07
    Font - 808Gemma 21 hr. ago. edited 5 hr. ago Partassipant [2] . ESH. Your BIL wife made a tasteless comment, and she made herself the asshole by pushing the conversation even more when you were against the comment and took offence to it. The conversation became very inappropriate once you showed how uncomfortable you were.
  • 08
    Font - On the other hand, you are failing to see that you are a nepotism baby. Your family started a business and you got to experience as easier time getting your first job out of college because of it. It is very possible that you did a lot of hard work to get yourself that job and it is also possible that someone else just as qualified for the same job got passed over because your family owns the company. You did nothing wrong by taking the job and your family have not done anything wrong by
  • 09
    Font - Edit: I understand that people may not like the term and yes the term itself is usually used in a negative way. I believe the OP is in the wrong by not seeing how nepotism does apply to them. They seem to generally think nepotism happens with the rich and famous only, I want to make OP aware that the small business and hard working people can fall into nepotism as well. 4.1k Reply Share
  • 10
    Font - ChiefTuk 22 hr. ago Your dad gave you a well paying job. You're a nepo baby with no sense of humor. YTA for pretending that's not the case. Reply Share 2.2k
  • 11
    Font - poshpineapple 21 hr. ago You know who hates jokes about nepo babies? Nepo babies. 4 1.7k Reply Share
  • 12
    Font - pavilionaire2022 - 21 hr. ago YTA. There's nothing wrong with working in the family business. But if you make significant money and were hired by your family, then you have to at least take a joke about being a nepotism baby. It doesn't have to be true, but you have to be able to laugh it off. Reply Share 1.2k
  • 13
    Font - KNIGHTOFBLOOD 21 hr. ago ESH I feel like she took it too far but like, you are a nepotism baby, the literal definition of nepotism is "the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives, friends, or associates, especially by giving them jobs" if your dad owns/runs/whatever the business he has influence and he gave you a job 849 Reply Share
  • 14
    Font - happybanana134 21 hr. ago. edited 21 hr. ago ESH. Your BIL's wife was being inappropriate, in my opinion. However...you did get your first job as a result of nepotism. Was BIL's wife wrong to point this out? I'm not sure she was given you did essentially try to argue that your case is somehow different to actors etc. You didn't seem to find the conversation 'wildly inappropriate' until it was pointed out to you that nepotism doesn't only exist amongst the rich and famous. Reply Share 320
  • 15
    Font - crockofpot 22 hr. ago Colo-rectal Surgeon [35] NTA. It was rude of her to put you on the spot in front of everyone, and passive- aggressive to try to couch it as a "joke." You stayed out of the conversation, deflected when she first called you out, and only shut her down when she wouldn't let it go. And unless you are leaving a lot out, shut her down without getting overly personal or aggressive. Reply Share 237
  • 16
    Font - 9 ColdForm7729. 19 hr. ago YTA. If a nepo baby joke annoys you, it's because you are one. Reply Share 209
  • 17
    Font - millac7 14 hr. ago edited 14 hr. ago YTA slightly skewing E S H. This seems like you tried to do the "act oblivious and make them explain" etiquette trick and it massively backfired on you. I don't think her initial conversation segue was egregious: you are obviously a beneficiary of nepotism, and she probably thought that she needed to check in to see if you were secretly stewing or insulted by the conversation. That's normal. And even kind of polite.
  • 18
    Font - But you tried to play oblivious innocent, when you should have just owned it. Which then lead to the revelation that your SIL resents your privilege and thinks you don't deserve it. She shouldn't have blabbed your salary to everyone, but you were garbing yourself with righteousness in a pretty hypocritical way that begs to be ripped off your shoulders.
  • 19
    Font - You didn't like being told you were given your spot, so you made her look ugly on purpose in revenge. There is a possibility that she initiated this entire topic to call you out. Which begs the question of what you've done to make her hate you so. Reply Share 113

Tags

Scroll Down For The Next Article