Madonna‘s son Rocco Ritchie has talked about “nepo babies” in a new interview, calling them “not the most interesting bunch”.
Per Daily Mail, in the latest issue of fashion magazine Fantastic Man, the 24-year-old Ritchie was interviewed about his career as a burgeoning artist – several exhibitions of his paintings have been held thus far, with his latest, The Tourist, having been presented by Giorgio Armani in Paris.
Ritchie spoke about how the ‘nepo baby’ label has not felt totally applicable to him, stating that he has been working in an industry separate from both his mother and his father, film director Guy Ritchie. He also questioned the label’s use in the vernacular.
As defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a ‘nepo baby’ – or nepotism baby – is a person who gains success or opportunities through familial connections, especially a child of a famous parent (such as an actor, musician, entrepreneur, or politician).
“I always think it’s funny that back in the day, some of the most beautiful cathedrals that were ever built would be built by generation after generation of the same family,” he told Fantastic Man.
“And now, if you are born from a family – and I’m not saying this is wrong – you start looking at nepo babies and they are not the most interesting bunch, are they?”
He also claimed that, growing up, he preferred to socialise with skateboarders instead of “upper-class people”.
“Straight away, I was like, this is the place. Best years of my life,’ he said. “I mean, how much fun are upper-class people? Not that much fun.”
The interview comes shortly after Lexi Jones, the daughter of David Bowie, released a poem addressing her roots following the release of ‘Xandri’, her debut album.
“I’m the daughter of a legend, but I’m more than just his name,” the poem read. “They see the blood, they hear the sound, yet fail to see me, don’t feel the same.”
Ritchie’s sister Lourdes Leon is following her mother’s shoes as a pop artist, performing under her stage name Lolahol.
Last year, Madonna shared a message praising her “incredibly talented” children who joined her ‘Celebration’ tour. “I think what my children learned the most this year of rehearsing and performing is that if you want to follow your dreams, you have to work hard for them,” she wrote.
In the past few months, several artists have bristled against the ‘nepo baby’ label, with Lola Young calling it “rubbish” after it surfaced that she’s related to author Julia Donaldson. Phoenix Brown, the daughter of Mel B, also shared in an interview that “nepo babies have never faced so much hate”.
The Kooks‘ Luke Pritchard, on the other hand, defended Cruz Beckham in an interview – it was revealed that the son of David Beckham had enlisted Pritchard to help with a possible career in music.
“He’s naturally going to come under criticism because of who his parents are,” Pritchard said. “He’s aware of that. It was great when he said ‘Jesus was a nepo baby too.’ I thought that was quite a funny response.”