Hailey Bieber Wears Her ‘Nepo Baby’ Label With Pride In A Crop Top With The Phrase On It
January 18, 2023 by Georgia Dodd
What is a nepo baby? Nepo–or nepotism–baby, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, nepotism is favoritism shown to someone within the same family. The conversations revolving around nepo babies on social media refer to the children of famous actors, musicians, sports figures, and other artists who have also become famous (maybe because of their famous parents). One certified nepo baby is Hailey Bieber, daughter of Stephen Baldwin and wife of Justin Bieber, who recently proved the most fashion-forward way to fend off nepotism accusations is to simply acknowledge them.
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On January 6, the model and influencer, 26, was recently photographed in Los Angeles wearing a white cropped T-shirt with the controversial phrase “Nepo Baby” printed on the chest. She paired the baby tee with a pair of straight-leg washed jeans, edgy black oxford shoes, a chunky belt, and a black shoulder bag. Bieber styled her nutmeg brunette hair down the middle in gentle waves.
While some fans thought that Bieber was accepting her nepo baby title, others thought that she missed the mark. One person tweeted, “The Hailey Bieber nepo baby shirt moment was so pathetically sad,” while another responded to the nepo shirt, saying, “hear me out Hailey Bieber is the most nepo baby of all. she has no talent and serves nothing but is still famous. She’s like [the] poster child for why nepo baby is supposed to be bad.” Another user concludes, “I think Hailey Bieber’s nepo baby shirt is her ‘acknowledging’ her privilege unlike recent nepo babies denying it. but the act was misinterpreted by most people and came across as cringe.” With this playful shirt, Bieber waded into some intense nepo baby discourse.
When New York Magazine declared 2022 the Year of the Nepo Baby, everyone was talking about the fairness of nepo babies. Everyone from Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Hanks, and Gwyneth Paltrow came to the defense of nepo babies.
Nepo babies are everywhere. To name a few: Hadids, Kardashian-Jenners, Maya Hawke, Zoe Kravitz, Jaden Smith, Laura Dern, Drew Barrymore, and even Prince Harry and William. “People are going to have preconceived ideas about you or how you got there, and I can definitely say that nothing is going to get you the part except for being right for the part,” Lily-Rose Depp, daughter of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis, declared. “It’s weird to me to reduce somebody to the idea that they’re only there because it’s a generational thing.”
Bieber’s own cousin Ireland Baldwin, daughter of Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, admitted on TikTok that she was treated “so differently than other models” when she was starting out. Meanwhile, nepo baby Allison Williams, daughter of former NBC anchor Brian Williams, discussed her nepo baby status in her recent interview with Vulture. She said, “All that people are looking for is an acknowledgment that it’s not a level playing field. It’s just unfair. Period, end of the story, and no one’s really working that hard to make it fair. To not acknowledge that me getting started as an actress versus someone with zero connections isn’t the same—it’s ludicrous.”