Since the term ‘nepo babies’ blew up online last year, following one woman’s viral tweet about watching Euphoria and finding out Maude Apatow is, indeed, a nepo baby, celebrities, especially those who come from privileged or famous families of their own, have been dodging the topic left, right and centre — when they know what’s good for them (ahem, Lily-Rose Depp).
But one person who has thoughts worth listening to is British actor, writer and director Michaela Coel, the creator and star of both Chewing Gum and the critically acclaimed show I May Destroy You. And someone who is very much not a nepo baby.
In an interview with the Evening Standard, Coel, who is working alongside the British Film Institute (BFI) to mentor young filmmakers in the country as part of the BMW Filmmaker Challenge (more on that here), shared her thoughts on nepotism within the industry and how it can impact creators, saying the issue is “100% there and present” in Hollywood.
Other than working productively to mentor young creatives as she’s currently doing, Coel has found she has “to not think about [nepotism] too much,” as it doesn’t benefit creators. “And it certainly doesn’t benefit me because it just makes me angry,” she said. “If people don’t believe that [being] the child of someone, or the niece or nephew of someone, whatever [that relationship may be], has anything to do with their achievements, then that is hilarious,” Coel continued.
“I find that very funny — that is a cute way for you to live, you carry on like that. The rest of us, we can’t think about this too much, because it’s going to make us feel defeated. You have to say, like, ‘f*** that system. I’m going to figure out a way to do my own thing’, and you can stand adjacent to those people and know how you got there.”
Showing she’s aware of the immense success she has found, Coel recognises she’s now part of the privileged set, and that her status could impact those around her in the future. AKA she could birth nepo babies of her very own. “The other truth is if I continue on my path and have children, I’m sure my opinion will evolve somehow,” she said.
Coel also recently discussed with The Guardian how those from marginalised groups in particular still often go unnoticed in the entertainment industry, despite the amount of progress those in power would like to pretend we’ve made in that department.
“There are incredible voices from marginalised and oppressed communities that have a lot of things to say, and it’s a pity that we’re still not hearing those stories,” she said at the time. “It’s really easy to feel quite downtrodden, to feel like the odds are stacked against you, and just seeing a version of yourself, your story or your experience can do a lot to take you out of that mentality.”
