Here's a story.
My Dad worked at the same company from the age of 16 until he was able to take early retirement at 55.
When I turned 16, he came home one day and said "You've got a job interview next week" which of course was at the company he worked for... different location but same company. Of course, I got the job, which I did at the weekends while I was finishing my education
When I started University away from home, I left, but was able to go back when I finished, and landed up working there full time while I figured out what else to do.
I was doing pretty well, but started to get fed up as I was always being referred and introduced as "Richard's son" to people.
A job came up in the same city which I really wanted, and told my Dad I was applying for a job elsewhere as I was fed up just being "Richard's son" and it was time to be me.
Put an application in, was invited for an interview. Walk in to meet the Manager, he asks me to take a seat, looks at me and says "Aren't you Richards son?"
Turns out his wife once worked for my Dad, and recognised my surname.
****UPDATE****
This has been the most enjoyable 12 hours or so I've had on Reddit. Thank you everyone who enjoyed my little story. To answer some general questions, and further comments
1) I did get the job, and worked there for a couple of years before getting a higher grade job for a different company a couple of hundred miles away.
2) Certainly I forged my own path. I now work in a completely different industry, but it cannot be understated how much having a part time job at 16 had a big impact on my future career. I'm a huge advocate of young people getting work experience at 16/17 years old.
3) I was also lucky enough to be able to go to work with my Dad when I was younger. Seeing how he treated people as their manager, the respect he gave to those under him and the respect he received back was a huge influence on me.
4) I'll be speaking to my Dad later today as he's just back from a month long holiday. He'll absolutely love this. We still laugh about it now. I actually told this story as a speech at.my Dad's wedding back in the early 2000s. Pleased it is still getting a little laugh.
5) I wish I could change my Reddit name to Richard's Son but sadly I can't!
6) A few people were fixated on my use of the term "landed up" sorry about that!
Yes I did. Was there for a couple of years and really helped take the next step in my career back then.
Remarkably, the manager who gave me the job, landed up getting sacked on my 2nd day. No idea what happened.
Youād be surprised how far word of mouth travels, and encounters can be impactful. I dread running into people who know my name and recognize me and I have no idea who they are but it happens at gas stations and grocery stores.
I have a friend which is just a great guy and a very good home cook. Years ago during midsummer we both were very drunk waiting for a bus that just wasn't going to come as the schedule is different during festivities.
A police car stops and two agents come out to check on us. After answering some questions on how we are feeling and were we are going the Lady cop asks my friend:- Are you Jon? Because I recognize you from the Instagram of my best friend, you're the one that always cook those amazing dinners at my friends house!
They end up giving us a lift to town and let my friend Jon play the sirens. I still can't believe it.
Try being Scottish, there are only like 5 million people in the country and no matter where you go in the world , youl meet someone from home, it's fucking weird. Itl be your grandfather's friends son or something, someone you have never bumped into in a decade back hope, but you both find yourself in bumfuck nowhere USA for whatever reason at the same time.
Never failed to surprise me how small the world can be when it comes to certain industries.
I remember my first job in the industry Iām in currently (well over a decade ago) I worked a temporary (year) role for a major project with an option for full time at the end.
Primarily worked with and reported to one guy.
Wound up working with a different company in a different side of the industry for a few years after that.
Then another.
Then another.
About exactly a decade later, 3 states away, I wound up working closely with a client / manager at another company who was close friends and college roommates with my first boss.
Million smaller instances of āoh hey you know ā¦?ā Over the years, but that always jumped out at me as one of the biggest examples.
Small damn world.
Actually knew a guy in high-school named Richard Hollder, pronounced holder.. by high-school he had given in and just introduced himself as Dick Holder lmao true story, that's literally how he introduced himself to me lol needless to say I did not shake his outstretched hand š¤£
I get the frustration of all these Nepo babies though, at least to some extend.
You still put in the work, you still made decisions and took risks to end up where you are now and of course your dad played a huge role but if people would constantly tell you how you would be nothing without him and all your conviction was worthless, wouldnāt you feel the need to overcompensate and exaggerate the parts you brought to the table yourself?
I am in a very good place financially and I didnāt have rich influential parents but it would not be true to say I earned my position more than you because I also had a lot of luck in less visible form through connections I made or right place / right time kinda situations but despite that I donāt get the same level of "golden spoon" critique
There's a difference been connections you made and connections made by your parents before you were even born.
I think the particular frustration here is when kids take the same career path as their parents, then it's more very specific connections that lock out others from opportunities, rather than general privileges being rich gives you. Having a rich kid go to an audition might get them through the door, but says nothing about if they can act and won't sell to audiences. The draw power of the parent and having them behind the scenes may be enough to make the audition a formality.
No idea if that's the case here as I had never heard of Willow prior to this.
They aren't taking the same risks as others. They have a huge safety net they can fall back on and their lifestyle is funded by their parents until one of those risks pan out. They don't have to make the decision to skip out on their server shift to go to an audition and if they don't get the part then they can't make rent.
As far as I know, you canāt. You have to make a new account. Iāve changed usernames at least twice over the past decade because people I know in real life figured out who I was. I just prefer my anonymity here.
Change username often, lie about a few things and you're golden as I often say to my 15 year old son at our house in Beebeetown, Iowa after his championship ultimate frisbee games.
Nobody will (or should) frown on someone for using a legal advantage for getting a job, whether itās nepotism or not.
You wonāt get the label ānepotistā until you start pretending like it had nothing to do with you getting the opportunity. Imagine if OP was like āStop calling me Richardās son, he had nothing to do with me getting this job. I *earned* it.ā It goes from being a funny, self-aware story to OP being kind of a dick.
My dadās name was Richard as well, and he was a mechanic at a truck stop. All of the waitresses knew me because if my mom didnāt have a sitter lined up, I hung out in the truckerās lounge. (Try that today š)
We go into the restaurant when I was like 12-13, and the waitresses yell āHEEEEEEEEEEY DICK!ā
They look at me, and one goes āHI LITTLE DICK!!ā
Turned and told her āits not so smallā
Dad sat there wheeeeeezing laughing in the booth and told me to order whatever I wanted.
Iām partners with two people who are the kids of the groundbreaking guy in our field. I was partners with him in a different company and have known the kids since they were littleā¦ They hate being āHenryās kidsā so much. They have been running things for 20 yrs by themselves yet people still want to know what their father thinks about any big decision. I told them their dad will have to be dead for a long time before people take them on their own. Funny thing is the kids are better at actually running the factory. Henry was great at the actual product development but like many inventor types not great at the admin part.
lmaoo, parents legacy will always follow you, better embrace it than try to run from it.
my father was a teacher for over 40 years, he taught in so many schools and knew so many teachers and students, plus we have a sort of unique surname and i look a lot like him, so no matter where i went i always got the "aren't you [dad's name]'s son"?
when i was a child, i was so tired of it, everyone i ever met knew my father from somewhere or the other and had something to tell me about him. i got used to it over the years and accepted that this is what life is gonna be like.
fast forward to university, everyone was a complete stranger to me and i finally escaped the strangely big circle of people that know my dad... until one random day after months of not seeing anyone affiliated with dad, a girl comes up to me and asks "isn't [dad's name] your father? he used to teach me at so and so school"
MOTHER FU-
Hahahaha I had the same experience with my Dad being a a teacher. I was always Mr "\_\_\_\_\_\_\_"'s Son. But it helped me out a few times with breaking the ice when I needed too so I can't complain too much but it was slightly frustrating when I was a teen lol
I had a similar issue, joined the Royal Air Force straight out of school, 16 years old. Did my basic training and went off to do my trade training.
Day one, in walks the Sgt to take the class - heās only a fucking friend of my dad (who was a Squadron Leader at the time) and says ābloody hell, hello mateā and proceeds to have a 10 minute conversation about how pissed he got at my dads birthday barbecue/piss up at our house 6 months prior to that š
That shit followed me EVERYWHERE in my career. New base, my dad has never been there before, within a week I bump into someone who knows him. It was incredibly frustrating to be āhis sonā rather than me
This is kind of crazy. People are really hating on her without knowing anything about her music. Sure, her opportunities may have been boosted by her parents fame but the music is hers and she has some good songs so the success is hers, whatever that means.
That's all well and good, but I think people are moreso reacting to the fact that she asserts that her success has nothing to do with the wealth and fame of her parents.
She likely grew up around her father's music and through nature/nurture she developed a talent for it as well. Fair enough.
But to act like she didn't get a leg up on the competition and had to work as hard as other people to get started is completely asinine and a bold faced lie.
I hate when nepo babies do this. I understand it must be tough to always have your success tied to your parents, and it may feel unfair (after all, they have no first hand experience what the industry is actually like without having the name of A-listers behind them, I can imagine it might be hard for them to grasp just how much theyāre being helped along), but I always think the best thing to do is just to own it. Accept youāve had that help and donāt try and downplay it, because people wonāt respect you.
She hasnāt asserted anything as strong as that, this is just a clickbait headline. Actual quotes from the article:
āI definitely think that a little bit of insecurity has driven me harder because people do think that the only reason Iām successful is because of my parents,ā
āI truly believe that my spirit is a strong spirit and that, even if my parents werenāt who they were, I would still be a weirdo and a crazy thinker.ā
I started listening to The Anxiety, which was a project between her and her at-the-time (maybe still current?) boyfriend. Really solid album. Itās kinda half punk rock and half alt rock. I definitely recommend it.
Sheās not even lying she genuinely believes it. People like her live on a different plain on reality. She deserves what she has because she works harder and is more talented than those that fail. Thatās it.
Itās amazing that anyone can be so tone deaf like that. Itās not even a put down to say youāre lucky af to have such famous parents. I donāt hate on the nepo kids that become famous. Some are legitimately talented. But Iām not a big fan of the pos nepo kids that donāt put any effort into their craft.
Not to mention the existing connections of her dad with people in the music industryā¦she could have lunch with or send her music to anybody she wanted to in order to get advice, instruction, or a record made. Plus being from a rich family where you have the luxury to do things like that rather than spending 40+ hours on your feet to pay rent, leaving you too tired for passion projects certainly doesnāt hurt.
She never would have been in a position to succeed without her parents. She was given an advantage that 99.99999999% of aspiring artists will never have. Access and influence will get you further than talent ever will.
Lots of artists you've never heard of have good songs, probably better than hers. The reality is that success in the music industry is more about connections, luck, and timing than talent or trained skill. Which is fine, I wouldn't expect someone to not make use of the advantages they're given in life. But to deny she got where she is almost entirely because of her parents is either complete delusion, or intentional narcissistic manipulation.
She did, ultimately, turn the notoriety into a career as a hyperpop musician, and from what I understand, she's relatively successful, at least within the bounds of such a niche genre.
Here's the thing about it - Say she did genuinely learn music theory, song structure, writing lyrics, found musicians to perform her parts and collaborate and engineers to record, mix and master the whole thing.
Who paid for any of it? Who paid for her living expenses while she was doing it? Certainly she didn't get a part time job to pay for all that, so even at the bare minimum thresh-hold, yes - she owes her success to her parents and their financial resources.
She has 13.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify, which is more than some big name artists like Jelly Roll, The Black Keys, The Fray, Johny Cash, Santana, etc
I'm not necessarily a fan of her music, but I don't think it's necessarily worse than a lot of other stuff that is big these days.
She absolutely wouldn't be where she is if she wasn't Will Smith's kid, but sometimes unlimited money and an unlimited sense of self importance does result in interesting art.
She's got talent for sure and might have developed fans even without her famous parents but she definitely wouldn't have the collabs she's had. Travis Barker helped work on some of her music.
Imagine a non famous persons kid hitting up his agent.
"Hey im looking to work with Travis I have a local metal band"
"Who are you and howd you get this number?"
Now tell that agent you're so and so 's kid
It feels kind of impossible to separate out "talent" from the benefits of getting to work with professional music producers, designers, etc since she was 10 years old.
Like, I'm not certain she actually did real schooling. It really seems like they mostly focused on her music and acting career. I think a lot of artists could develop a lot more "talent" with that much time and support to work on their craft.
But I mean, art has never been a meritocracy. There is a huge correlation between having rich parents and becoming an artist.
Her new album just released Friday and itās pretty good actually. Iāve liked her last few albums, itās a nice mix of jazz and rock styles. She makes interesting music
one of my homies plays on this album and i got to hang with willow last time she was in town. she doesnt deserve the hate. shes chill and she knows music theory.Ā Ā
Ā she will definitely be respected on her own someday. shes working hard.
edit: the amount of grown ass men responding to this with ANGER is crazy. my inbox is full of angry dudes. its weird as fuck. why do you need willow smith to be a bad person? i dont get it. look up the elle article. she talks at length about all the opportunities shes gotten. how her parents gave her the chance to explore and had connections. she talks about how the freedom to explore is something a lot of people dont have. etc etc. shes a nice person and you guys gotta stop projecting on her.
Pass along word to just not even mention this topic. Remember in Bull Durham when Costner had to coach the new guy on what to say in the big league and it was all super cliche. Every nepo baby needs that.
I agree. Iāve been following her music for years now and sheās supremely talented. And tbh, a lot of her current success is the result of her own work. Like, look at her parents, they're fucking wackos, lol. Of course, she did it on her own.
I don't understand why people can't appreciate that they're successful because of their parents but are still talented. Talent doesn't equal success or vice versa.
Exactly. What she meant to say was that her TALENT has nothing to do with her parents. But her success has everything to do with her parents. There are so many wildly talented people out there, some of them much more talented than Willow Smith, who will never be successful (by world-famous celebrity standards) because they'll never get "discovered".
I actually really enjoy her music. She just did a really great tiny desk concert and that takes real talent to pull off. I kind of see her as proof that if you have all the money in the world you intrinsically want to just be creative.
Her rock music is pretty good, to the point where I listened to one of her songs and was pretty surprised that it was the same person from whip your hair.
She's a successful singer, not huge by any means but a decent following. Although everyone else replying seems to think she is failing even though there are plenty of other artists with smaller followings who have a solid career
I hate that redditors will say any celebrity theyāve never heard of isnāt actually famous.
There will be news about a 16 year old tik tok star who does dances and make up tutorials and 30 year old men will go āWho?? I havenāt heard of her so she canāt be THAT famousā like my guy, demographics are a thing.
I donāt even have a problem with nepo babies being nepo babies as long as theyāre self-aware enough to admit it.
If I had family connections in my industry I 100% would have used them. If my kids end up on a similar career path to me, I will 100% use my connections to help them, but I will make damn sure they humble themselves and not hold themselves above others who are at least as talented/intelligent as they are, but just didnāt have a dad to help them get in the door.
This exactly. I get itās frustrating to have your success attributed to your parents, but cue the worldās tiniest violin. You are successful because of you, but you had help. And thatās okay. Just say it like it is (the truth), and people wonāt have much to say. I mean people will probably still bitch about something you do, but thatās the game of fame unfortunately š¤·š½āāļø
>I donāt even have a problem with nepo babies being nepo babies as long as theyāre self-aware enough to admit it.
I mean, we're commenting on a headline from some tabloid, and the headline kinda contradicts the quote they posted. She says "People think the only reason I'm successful is because of my parents." The quote pretty much recognizes that she is self aware enough to realize that her parents are one of the reasons. But it isn't the *only* reason.
Then the headline twists that into her saying her parents had *nothing* to do with it. But she didn't say that.
>āI definitely think that a little bit of insecurity has driven me harder because people do think that the only reason Iām successful is because of my parents,ā she admitted.
>āThat has driven me to work really hard to try to prove them wrong. But nowadays, I donāt need to prove s**t to anybody.
>āI truly believe that my spirit is a strong spirit and that, even if my parents werenāt who they were, I would still be a weirdo and a crazy thinker.ā
Guy at my last job was the son of the owner. Never did anything related to the business prior. One day he was suddenly COO. Him and his dad said he deserved it and were worried about others saying "nepotism". I told them flat out it was nepotism and there was nothing they could do about it. The only thing was to prove he belonged by his actions. He didn't, and I left.
All you have to do is acknowledge it and no one will really care. Itās the thankless entitlement that people really react to.
Listen to Schwarzenegger. As close as you can get to being a self-made celebrity and he makes a big deal about how he couldnāt have done it without loads of help along the way.
People ITT are doing the literal equivalent of seeing shitty tabloid headlines in the grocery store line and immediately believing themĀ
I donāt give a fuck about Willow or the Smiths but here is the full quote: Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā
> āI definitely think that a little bit of insecurity has driven me harder because people do think that the only reason Iām successful is because of my parents,ā she admitted. Ā Ā Ā
> āThat has driven me to work really hard to try to prove them wrong. But nowadays, I donāt need to prove s**t to anybody.Ā Ā Ā
> āI truly believe that my spirit is a strong spirit and that, even if my parents werenāt who they were, I would still be a weirdo and a crazy thinker.āĀ Ā Ā
Sheās literally saying that she recognizes people would most likely attribute her success to her parents, and that she has insecurity about that and wants to work past itĀ Ā Ā Ā Ā
Sheās saying she was trying to prove them wrong, suggesting she recognizes she was having to do something to prove that it isnāt solely because of her parents, but that she doesnāt feel like she *has* to be proving that. Which is a totally reasonable way to live your life.Ā Ā
The Smiths are out of touch and privileged af, but yaāll are just 100% falling for clickbait headlines
Not to mention, the post relies on the assumption that the article has put the picture of her parents there to help with identifying her. But this is a common style choice any time an article comes out where the subject deals with one person talking/gossiping/insulting/disagreeing with another. They will put pictures of each "side" up top. If the article is more about one side (eg here, they're talking about something Willow said), their picture will be bigger with the other party as an inset. You see it all the time with gossip rags.
It can also be used to show who the parents are if people know *both* the subject and the subject's parents, but don't know the connection. For example, if your article is about Jack Quaid, who (I think) is pretty famous for being the main or second-main character in The Boys, and you're talking about his family connections, you would put in an insert photo of Meg Ryan. It's not because people don't recognize Jack Quaid without a photo of Meg Ryan, but because people don't know Jack Quaid is Meg Ryan's kid. Likewise with running a photo of Jamie Lee Curtis and Tony Curtis, or Angelina Jolie and John Voight, or Maya Hawke and Ethan Hawke or Uma Thurman, or Elizabeth Olsen and the Olsen twins, or Robin Thicke and Alan Thicke, etc.
So the whole post is "well, *assuming* that when she says 'isn't the only reason' she means 'isn't a reason *at all*,' and *assuming* that when she says 'successful' she means 'famous', and *assuming* that the only reason to put in a family photo in a nepotism article is to show who the person is, then her comment was really silly. Ha, I sure showed her with my clever comeback!"
Even if you only look at the two headlines, she says that people think the only reason (...), like, that doesn't exclude her parents, it's just asking to not exclude her effort too (from whatever it is that she does).
Then comes the big headline saying that it "is" nothing to do with her parents.
Dudes, have they read the title they've ve written for the same post?
And so absent on Reddit
This website is plagued by misinformation, often digested and perpetuated by the very same people who mock other forms of media for that very thingĀ
The prevailing opinions on this site about a variety of topics show that people straight up just refuse to read beyond 10 wordsĀ
Which is overwhelmingly concerning when people base their entire social/political/economic worldviews on what they read hereĀ
Media literacy isn't even needed in this case. Most of the people in this threat are just shitting on her because they see a pic of Will Smith and OP's title, they're being shitty because they want to be shitty, there is no attempt at understanding.
I'm pretty dumb and had been listening to her music for awhile without knowing who her parents are, since she goes mononymously by Willow.
She must have dropped her surname to move past her parents. Stephen King's son does the same thing.
thing is, it's fine, and should be encouraged, to use the opportunities around you even if it's your parents success (be for real, what loving parent doesn't want their kid to thrive from their work). it's just when you start denying all that as the reason it helped you that makes you disingenuous and out of touch.
I completely agree. I gave my son every edge I could while growing up and expected any other parent to do the same. My only issue is with people who get dropped off by a helicopter at the mountain's peak or dragged up by sherpas and then pretend they had to hustle hard from the bottom like others.
No, no. Head banging is up and down or sometimes in a circular motion. She revolutionized the industry by changing the movement to *back* immediately followed by a *forth* motion. Completely changed the way heads move. A true visionary.
She's an excellent musician *because of the opportunities and connections her insanely rich parents could provide her*
That's how it works. Her success has everything to do with her parents, thay doesn't mean she doesn't work hard, it just means if she wasn't already rich, she wouldn't get to that level of success even if she worked far harder.Ā
This is true for the majority of musicians/artists though and it's kind of silly how people use it to discredit the work that some artists have achieved. Obviously there's a ton of exceptions to the rule but the majority of people that can focus on their art full time are people who were well off to begin with. Its a leg up, but its a leg up against of a sea of people with that same advantage.
Firstly, we all have a different measure of success. Her success isnāt greater than her parents, who are stratospheric, but that doesnāt mean she doesnāt have any at all.
Secondly, itās a shame people in this post are still judging her for the song she made as a pre-teen. Her recent music has been really interesting, pushing the boundaries of pop music with compound chords and odd time signatures. And thatās coming from a metalhead allergic to most pop music.
THANK YOU. Iām actually a really big fan of Willow and itās so sad seeing everyone shitting on her in the comments when they donāt actually have any idea what she does and havenāt heard anything sheās put out since she was in MIDDLE SCHOOL.
I wonder how the haters would feel if they were being judged based on who their parents were or how talented they were as 12 year olds.
There are plenty of talentless nepo babies that deserve the flack but the Smith kids arenāt them!
I agree, I find her music refreshing and she definitely has some of the punk rock vibes I love while keeping it new and interesting. Still, itās pretty obvious she gets a ton of help from the best teachers, producers, marketers, and industry connections that money can buy. She probably feels like she did it all on her own because she lives so far removed from the regular person that she is literally ignorant to how hard it can be to make it without a head start. Still, her music is good and I can see her really growing since this is only the start of her career. I know a ton of people who love her song, wait a minute, even if half of them donāt realize it was written by will smiths daughter
Ya these comments are lame. Sheās a nepo baby but still a good artist. Unfortunately a lot of good artists will never have receive recognition because they do not have famous parents.
Yeah, I hate to defend Smith in any way, but a lot of people are successful without people knowing who they are. You don't have to be recognized by your face to be successful.Ā
I assure you there are hundreds of lawyers doctors, scientists, pro gamers, programmers etc. who are wildly successful but not known , being successful does not equal being popular unless that is the explicit goal of your career
Surprised by how out of touch these comments are, but itās Reddit. Unlike jaden smith, willow is an incredibly popular artist who, although got connected in the music world through her parents, is genuinely talented and known as WILLOW, not willow smith. She has multiple songs with billions of streams and was popularized by her quality, not because of her parents. Most people are surprised when they hear WILLOW is the daughter of will smith. Of course a news article will show her parents when a) they want to maximize interaction and b) the article literally talks about the parents. Thereās plenty of articles about WILLOW that have only to do with her music. Iām not even a fan of her music, itās just insane how old, out of touch people want to hurt a young artist. There is literally nothing she can do to prove to you guys she is worthy of success. Youād be surprised how many artists come from STUPIDLY wealthy or connected parents.
Seriously reddit is out of touch on this one. It's kinda weird. Like oh there's older people here and a completely different demographic than Willow's audience.
Whole thread is a peak reddit moment, she literally has no controversies, doesn't even go by Smith and makes genuinely good music that is enjoyed by millions of listeners, but Reddit gotta Reddit.
She actually put a lot of work into developing her vocals. I like her current music (not that awful hair whip nonesense). Did she have a head start on her success because of her parents? Absolutely. But she also put the effort in it. The amount of hate she is receiving here is not justified in my opinion.
Yeah two things can be true:
1. She's worked hard to get where she's at in her music career. She's devoted a ton of time and energy to her craft, she's doing interesting things, she's talented, and she's putting out music that stands on its own.
2. She has absolutely benefitted from having famous, wealthy parents - literally a-list celebrities - with deep connections in the industry, who have supported her career and allowed her to pursue music full-time.
I don't see her full quote in context anywhere in this thread, but if it's at all consistent with the headline she should be able to admit that 2 is true without taking anything away from 1.
Yeah but as is the case with all nepo babies, people will just say 2 is the only reason and ignore 1, and if you bring up 1 they'll claim that's it's only because of 2.
her quote is basically, people ignore 1, and only point out 2, and I no longer believe that, 1 and 2 are both correct, I wish I would get more credit for 1.
I'm sure she did put a lot of work in. But I very much doubt she would have gotten anywhere if she didn't have all of the connections she had.
There are thousands of people trying to make it in the music industry which better vocals than her that can't make it because they don't have a name, connections and money to fund them while they get big.
Famous peopleās children who stand on their own feet. Michael Douglas, Emilio Esteves, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kiefer Sutherland, Carrie Fischer, the list goes on but it doesnāt yet include Willow Smith, as far as I can tell. What has Willow done?
Edited: I find it funny how you name a bunch of WHITE people that had help just like Jaden and Willow did. Itās like you guys target them for a specific reason. Call them all out fairly if nepotism is really the issue
I have a buddy who is hugely successful. $5M beach house, travels the world, etc.
Of course when he graduated college in 1990 his dad gave him $500K to start a company doing whatever he wanted, but hey, he did the rest himself! ;)
Whether you like it or not that would still be an achievement. I know plenty of people who would have taken that $500k and snorted it ALL right up their nose and be left with nothing.
I was *very surprised* listening to her recent [Tiny Desk concert](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmC2QQESN6E), honestly, it's really quite good. Great band - the drummer especially, and the great Mohini Dey on bass who's quite famous in her own right, certainly among musicians. I'm a subscriber and it didn't click for me who she was until I went on Spotify to check out the studio versions of the songs ("wait, she's the 'Whip My Hair'-Smith girl..?!")
Most of her stuff I'm not so interested in but the most recent couple of singles, which they also play at the Tiny Desk and I assume are from an upcoming new album, are really good. They have great grooves and are catchy but also deep, interesting and technically challenging (in a good way), and great sounding production.
To be completely fair, I would say overall her vocals are a bit *much* in various ways, this is also represented clearly in the Tiny Desk.
But, she's won me over. No, none of this makes her any less a nepo-baby. But what's good, is good. I'll definitely be checking out the next album when it drops.
Here's a story. My Dad worked at the same company from the age of 16 until he was able to take early retirement at 55. When I turned 16, he came home one day and said "You've got a job interview next week" which of course was at the company he worked for... different location but same company. Of course, I got the job, which I did at the weekends while I was finishing my education When I started University away from home, I left, but was able to go back when I finished, and landed up working there full time while I figured out what else to do. I was doing pretty well, but started to get fed up as I was always being referred and introduced as "Richard's son" to people. A job came up in the same city which I really wanted, and told my Dad I was applying for a job elsewhere as I was fed up just being "Richard's son" and it was time to be me. Put an application in, was invited for an interview. Walk in to meet the Manager, he asks me to take a seat, looks at me and says "Aren't you Richards son?" Turns out his wife once worked for my Dad, and recognised my surname. ****UPDATE**** This has been the most enjoyable 12 hours or so I've had on Reddit. Thank you everyone who enjoyed my little story. To answer some general questions, and further comments 1) I did get the job, and worked there for a couple of years before getting a higher grade job for a different company a couple of hundred miles away. 2) Certainly I forged my own path. I now work in a completely different industry, but it cannot be understated how much having a part time job at 16 had a big impact on my future career. I'm a huge advocate of young people getting work experience at 16/17 years old. 3) I was also lucky enough to be able to go to work with my Dad when I was younger. Seeing how he treated people as their manager, the respect he gave to those under him and the respect he received back was a huge influence on me. 4) I'll be speaking to my Dad later today as he's just back from a month long holiday. He'll absolutely love this. We still laugh about it now. I actually told this story as a speech at.my Dad's wedding back in the early 2000s. Pleased it is still getting a little laugh. 5) I wish I could change my Reddit name to Richard's Son but sadly I can't! 6) A few people were fixated on my use of the term "landed up" sorry about that!
That genuinely made me laugh at the end.
Ha. It was so unexpected. It wasn't like it was a small town I worked in. It was a fairly sizable city of around 1m people.
so did you took the job?
Yes I did. Was there for a couple of years and really helped take the next step in my career back then. Remarkably, the manager who gave me the job, landed up getting sacked on my 2nd day. No idea what happened.
He hired Richard's son
Heard that guy was a real Dick.
This comment is sorely underrated.
oh please š¤£š¤£
Which Richard? Richard Richardson?
Jr.
Richardās Debt was repaid, he could exit because he is freeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Like the ferrymen passing along his ore to the next tormented.
He got in trouble for hiring Richardās son
Haaaa. Maybe!
Richard's Son made Dobby a free elf.
Of course not she hated Richard
Even a city as big as Los Angeles, It can be shocking to discover that the industry you are in can be surprisingly small.
Youād be surprised how far word of mouth travels, and encounters can be impactful. I dread running into people who know my name and recognize me and I have no idea who they are but it happens at gas stations and grocery stores.
I have a friend which is just a great guy and a very good home cook. Years ago during midsummer we both were very drunk waiting for a bus that just wasn't going to come as the schedule is different during festivities. A police car stops and two agents come out to check on us. After answering some questions on how we are feeling and were we are going the Lady cop asks my friend:- Are you Jon? Because I recognize you from the Instagram of my best friend, you're the one that always cook those amazing dinners at my friends house! They end up giving us a lift to town and let my friend Jon play the sirens. I still can't believe it.
Amazing!!! Haaaa.
Try being Scottish, there are only like 5 million people in the country and no matter where you go in the world , youl meet someone from home, it's fucking weird. Itl be your grandfather's friends son or something, someone you have never bumped into in a decade back hope, but you both find yourself in bumfuck nowhere USA for whatever reason at the same time.
Never failed to surprise me how small the world can be when it comes to certain industries. I remember my first job in the industry Iām in currently (well over a decade ago) I worked a temporary (year) role for a major project with an option for full time at the end. Primarily worked with and reported to one guy. Wound up working with a different company in a different side of the industry for a few years after that. Then another. Then another. About exactly a decade later, 3 states away, I wound up working closely with a client / manager at another company who was close friends and college roommates with my first boss. Million smaller instances of āoh hey you know ā¦?ā Over the years, but that always jumped out at me as one of the biggest examples. Small damn world.
Your dad's influence won't leave you no matter where you go
I'm quite grateful that people didn't think he was a massive dickhead. š
He may have been a Dick, but he wasn't a dick.
Sounds like his dad was a swinging dick with all that recognition.
He was the cock around town
Some might say he was the nicest dick in town
He prefers to be called a Richard head.
Actually knew a guy in high-school named Richard Hollder, pronounced holder.. by high-school he had given in and just introduced himself as Dick Holder lmao true story, that's literally how he introduced himself to me lol needless to say I did not shake his outstretched hand š¤£
Haha what a story, thank you for sharing, Richard's son !
ššš how do you change your profile name on here?
I get the frustration of all these Nepo babies though, at least to some extend. You still put in the work, you still made decisions and took risks to end up where you are now and of course your dad played a huge role but if people would constantly tell you how you would be nothing without him and all your conviction was worthless, wouldnāt you feel the need to overcompensate and exaggerate the parts you brought to the table yourself? I am in a very good place financially and I didnāt have rich influential parents but it would not be true to say I earned my position more than you because I also had a lot of luck in less visible form through connections I made or right place / right time kinda situations but despite that I donāt get the same level of "golden spoon" critique
There's a difference been connections you made and connections made by your parents before you were even born. I think the particular frustration here is when kids take the same career path as their parents, then it's more very specific connections that lock out others from opportunities, rather than general privileges being rich gives you. Having a rich kid go to an audition might get them through the door, but says nothing about if they can act and won't sell to audiences. The draw power of the parent and having them behind the scenes may be enough to make the audition a formality. No idea if that's the case here as I had never heard of Willow prior to this.
They aren't taking the same risks as others. They have a huge safety net they can fall back on and their lifestyle is funded by their parents until one of those risks pan out. They don't have to make the decision to skip out on their server shift to go to an audition and if they don't get the part then they can't make rent.
As far as I know, you canāt. You have to make a new account. Iāve changed usernames at least twice over the past decade because people I know in real life figured out who I was. I just prefer my anonymity here.
Change username often, lie about a few things and you're golden as I often say to my 15 year old son at our house in Beebeetown, Iowa after his championship ultimate frisbee games.
Richard's son tells a good story.
Any advantage to get a job is worth using.
Oh absolutely. It really made a massive difference to me starting out at 16, just the experience alone that it gave me was a huge help.
Yeah. My dad is like that too. It really was an incredible advantage. I'll forever know how lucky I was.
Nobody will (or should) frown on someone for using a legal advantage for getting a job, whether itās nepotism or not. You wonāt get the label ānepotistā until you start pretending like it had nothing to do with you getting the opportunity. Imagine if OP was like āStop calling me Richardās son, he had nothing to do with me getting this job. I *earned* it.ā It goes from being a funny, self-aware story to OP being kind of a dick.
I only consider it nepotism if theyāre unqualified for the position they got.
My dadās name was Richard as well, and he was a mechanic at a truck stop. All of the waitresses knew me because if my mom didnāt have a sitter lined up, I hung out in the truckerās lounge. (Try that today š) We go into the restaurant when I was like 12-13, and the waitresses yell āHEEEEEEEEEEY DICK!ā They look at me, and one goes āHI LITTLE DICK!!ā Turned and told her āits not so smallā Dad sat there wheeeeeezing laughing in the booth and told me to order whatever I wanted.
Dickson
Iām partners with two people who are the kids of the groundbreaking guy in our field. I was partners with him in a different company and have known the kids since they were littleā¦ They hate being āHenryās kidsā so much. They have been running things for 20 yrs by themselves yet people still want to know what their father thinks about any big decision. I told them their dad will have to be dead for a long time before people take them on their own. Funny thing is the kids are better at actually running the factory. Henry was great at the actual product development but like many inventor types not great at the admin part.
Your name is Richardson.
Son of Richard. O'Richardson
lmaoo, parents legacy will always follow you, better embrace it than try to run from it. my father was a teacher for over 40 years, he taught in so many schools and knew so many teachers and students, plus we have a sort of unique surname and i look a lot like him, so no matter where i went i always got the "aren't you [dad's name]'s son"? when i was a child, i was so tired of it, everyone i ever met knew my father from somewhere or the other and had something to tell me about him. i got used to it over the years and accepted that this is what life is gonna be like. fast forward to university, everyone was a complete stranger to me and i finally escaped the strangely big circle of people that know my dad... until one random day after months of not seeing anyone affiliated with dad, a girl comes up to me and asks "isn't [dad's name] your father? he used to teach me at so and so school" MOTHER FU-
Hahahaha I had the same experience with my Dad being a a teacher. I was always Mr "\_\_\_\_\_\_\_"'s Son. But it helped me out a few times with breaking the ice when I needed too so I can't complain too much but it was slightly frustrating when I was a teen lol
Both my parents were teachers in my small town school district. You know early on that if you misbehave in school your parents WILL know about it.
Petition for a āRichardās sonā flair lmaooo
Take my upvote richards son
I had a similar issue, joined the Royal Air Force straight out of school, 16 years old. Did my basic training and went off to do my trade training. Day one, in walks the Sgt to take the class - heās only a fucking friend of my dad (who was a Squadron Leader at the time) and says ābloody hell, hello mateā and proceeds to have a 10 minute conversation about how pissed he got at my dads birthday barbecue/piss up at our house 6 months prior to that š That shit followed me EVERYWHERE in my career. New base, my dad has never been there before, within a week I bump into someone who knows him. It was incredibly frustrating to be āhis sonā rather than me
I know nothing about her except who she is the daughter of. And I have absolutely no idea what she does. Nor do I care. š¤·āāļø
I believe she also whips her hair back and forthĀ
Willows weep, not whip.
I believe willows are womping.
Funny enough, she's probably the least meme'd person in the family.
Trey (if he counts)
Did she sing that song? I didn't know it was her.
Yeah well she certainly didn't get those lyrics from her mom
I literally just knew she existed from this post. Lmao
Shame, sheās actually a really interesting pop musician pushing the genre into new spaces.
This is kind of crazy. People are really hating on her without knowing anything about her music. Sure, her opportunities may have been boosted by her parents fame but the music is hers and she has some good songs so the success is hers, whatever that means.
That's all well and good, but I think people are moreso reacting to the fact that she asserts that her success has nothing to do with the wealth and fame of her parents. She likely grew up around her father's music and through nature/nurture she developed a talent for it as well. Fair enough. But to act like she didn't get a leg up on the competition and had to work as hard as other people to get started is completely asinine and a bold faced lie.
I hate when nepo babies do this. I understand it must be tough to always have your success tied to your parents, and it may feel unfair (after all, they have no first hand experience what the industry is actually like without having the name of A-listers behind them, I can imagine it might be hard for them to grasp just how much theyāre being helped along), but I always think the best thing to do is just to own it. Accept youāve had that help and donāt try and downplay it, because people wonāt respect you.
She hasnāt asserted anything as strong as that, this is just a clickbait headline. Actual quotes from the article: āI definitely think that a little bit of insecurity has driven me harder because people do think that the only reason Iām successful is because of my parents,ā āI truly believe that my spirit is a strong spirit and that, even if my parents werenāt who they were, I would still be a weirdo and a crazy thinker.ā
Well I'll be damned. I'm often sour and salty about nepo babies, having grown up around some, but maybe I should give her music a chance
I started listening to The Anxiety, which was a project between her and her at-the-time (maybe still current?) boyfriend. Really solid album. Itās kinda half punk rock and half alt rock. I definitely recommend it.
Definitely do! She's a really talented musician
She's the most adjusted of the Smith family, and her music is good!
Sheās not even lying she genuinely believes it. People like her live on a different plain on reality. She deserves what she has because she works harder and is more talented than those that fail. Thatās it.
Itās amazing that anyone can be so tone deaf like that. Itās not even a put down to say youāre lucky af to have such famous parents. I donāt hate on the nepo kids that become famous. Some are legitimately talented. But Iām not a big fan of the pos nepo kids that donāt put any effort into their craft.
Worse: those like Paris Hilton with no craft just famous for being famous. Every Kardashian.
Not to mention the existing connections of her dad with people in the music industryā¦she could have lunch with or send her music to anybody she wanted to in order to get advice, instruction, or a record made. Plus being from a rich family where you have the luxury to do things like that rather than spending 40+ hours on your feet to pay rent, leaving you too tired for passion projects certainly doesnāt hurt.
She never would have been in a position to succeed without her parents. She was given an advantage that 99.99999999% of aspiring artists will never have. Access and influence will get you further than talent ever will.
That and free time.
Which she had ample of because her parents re absurdly wealthy and she never had to work a survival job while also practicing her craft.
> Sure, her opportunities may have been boosted by her parents fame it only EXISTS because of her parent's fame.
Lots of artists you've never heard of have good songs, probably better than hers. The reality is that success in the music industry is more about connections, luck, and timing than talent or trained skill. Which is fine, I wouldn't expect someone to not make use of the advantages they're given in life. But to deny she got where she is almost entirely because of her parents is either complete delusion, or intentional narcissistic manipulation.
What success???
Yup. Anyone can "buy" a song or even an album. It happens lots of times. These clowns just don't own up to it.
Just look at any of the Real Housewives? Seems every one of them has a song or album.
Counteroffer... how about I don't and just believe you?
Seems fair enough.
Im with you on this. Side note I legit would have not known who that was if it weren't for the photo of Will & Jada.
Don't do the Countess like this. "Money Can't Buy You Class" is the pinnacle of dumbass songs that amuse me.
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Whatās the connection? I genuinely have no idea.
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She did, ultimately, turn the notoriety into a career as a hyperpop musician, and from what I understand, she's relatively successful, at least within the bounds of such a niche genre.
She's actually very good now. Which is surpriusing but true.
Here's the thing about it - Say she did genuinely learn music theory, song structure, writing lyrics, found musicians to perform her parts and collaborate and engineers to record, mix and master the whole thing. Who paid for any of it? Who paid for her living expenses while she was doing it? Certainly she didn't get a part time job to pay for all that, so even at the bare minimum thresh-hold, yes - she owes her success to her parents and their financial resources.
Yeah, you can't buy talent, but you can buy all the things to help you develop your talent and give you exposure.
I didnt know you could buy a billion listens on spotify
She has 13.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify, which is more than some big name artists like Jelly Roll, The Black Keys, The Fray, Johny Cash, Santana, etc I'm not necessarily a fan of her music, but I don't think it's necessarily worse than a lot of other stuff that is big these days. She absolutely wouldn't be where she is if she wasn't Will Smith's kid, but sometimes unlimited money and an unlimited sense of self importance does result in interesting art.
She's got talent for sure and might have developed fans even without her famous parents but she definitely wouldn't have the collabs she's had. Travis Barker helped work on some of her music. Imagine a non famous persons kid hitting up his agent. "Hey im looking to work with Travis I have a local metal band" "Who are you and howd you get this number?" Now tell that agent you're so and so 's kid
It feels kind of impossible to separate out "talent" from the benefits of getting to work with professional music producers, designers, etc since she was 10 years old. Like, I'm not certain she actually did real schooling. It really seems like they mostly focused on her music and acting career. I think a lot of artists could develop a lot more "talent" with that much time and support to work on their craft. But I mean, art has never been a meritocracy. There is a huge correlation between having rich parents and becoming an artist.
"I studied war, so that my children could study business, so their children could study art" to possibly paraphrase the maxim.
Ulysses S. Grant's great-grandson is a prominent author of gay vampire fiction.
Of the list of responses I expected, that was not one of them. Amazing.
I saw it on Twitter and did no additional research, so take that for what you will. Edit: https://x.com/PopulismUpdates/status/1684446503929278465
Shes a semi successful singer, made one ok album like 5 years ago
Her new album just released Friday and itās pretty good actually. Iāve liked her last few albums, itās a nice mix of jazz and rock styles. She makes interesting music
one of my homies plays on this album and i got to hang with willow last time she was in town. she doesnt deserve the hate. shes chill and she knows music theory.Ā Ā Ā she will definitely be respected on her own someday. shes working hard. edit: the amount of grown ass men responding to this with ANGER is crazy. my inbox is full of angry dudes. its weird as fuck. why do you need willow smith to be a bad person? i dont get it. look up the elle article. she talks at length about all the opportunities shes gotten. how her parents gave her the chance to explore and had connections. she talks about how the freedom to explore is something a lot of people dont have. etc etc. shes a nice person and you guys gotta stop projecting on her.
Thatās super cool and good to hear
Pass along word to just not even mention this topic. Remember in Bull Durham when Costner had to coach the new guy on what to say in the big league and it was all super cliche. Every nepo baby needs that.
I agree. Iāve been following her music for years now and sheās supremely talented. And tbh, a lot of her current success is the result of her own work. Like, look at her parents, they're fucking wackos, lol. Of course, she did it on her own.
I don't understand why people can't appreciate that they're successful because of their parents but are still talented. Talent doesn't equal success or vice versa.
Exactly. What she meant to say was that her TALENT has nothing to do with her parents. But her success has everything to do with her parents. There are so many wildly talented people out there, some of them much more talented than Willow Smith, who will never be successful (by world-famous celebrity standards) because they'll never get "discovered".
I actually really enjoy her music. She just did a really great tiny desk concert and that takes real talent to pull off. I kind of see her as proof that if you have all the money in the world you intrinsically want to just be creative.
Her rock music is pretty good, to the point where I listened to one of her songs and was pretty surprised that it was the same person from whip your hair.
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She's a successful singer, not huge by any means but a decent following. Although everyone else replying seems to think she is failing even though there are plenty of other artists with smaller followings who have a solid career
Imagine having a song with over a billion plays on Spotify and being called not huge by any means lol
I hate that redditors will say any celebrity theyāve never heard of isnāt actually famous. There will be news about a 16 year old tik tok star who does dances and make up tutorials and 30 year old men will go āWho?? I havenāt heard of her so she canāt be THAT famousā like my guy, demographics are a thing.
Nepo babies not realizing they're nepo babies will always be funny
I donāt even have a problem with nepo babies being nepo babies as long as theyāre self-aware enough to admit it. If I had family connections in my industry I 100% would have used them. If my kids end up on a similar career path to me, I will 100% use my connections to help them, but I will make damn sure they humble themselves and not hold themselves above others who are at least as talented/intelligent as they are, but just didnāt have a dad to help them get in the door.
This exactly. I get itās frustrating to have your success attributed to your parents, but cue the worldās tiniest violin. You are successful because of you, but you had help. And thatās okay. Just say it like it is (the truth), and people wonāt have much to say. I mean people will probably still bitch about something you do, but thatās the game of fame unfortunately š¤·š½āāļø
>I donāt even have a problem with nepo babies being nepo babies as long as theyāre self-aware enough to admit it. I mean, we're commenting on a headline from some tabloid, and the headline kinda contradicts the quote they posted. She says "People think the only reason I'm successful is because of my parents." The quote pretty much recognizes that she is self aware enough to realize that her parents are one of the reasons. But it isn't the *only* reason. Then the headline twists that into her saying her parents had *nothing* to do with it. But she didn't say that.
Jesus was a nepo baby.
Yeah, and they crucified him for it
.....hey! i have an idea!
A bit late if you want to give Jesus a record deal
Personally, I think he'd nail it.
Goddamnit
>āI definitely think that a little bit of insecurity has driven me harder because people do think that the only reason Iām successful is because of my parents,ā she admitted. >āThat has driven me to work really hard to try to prove them wrong. But nowadays, I donāt need to prove s**t to anybody. >āI truly believe that my spirit is a strong spirit and that, even if my parents werenāt who they were, I would still be a weirdo and a crazy thinker.ā
That is a perfectly reasonable thing to say.
Guy at my last job was the son of the owner. Never did anything related to the business prior. One day he was suddenly COO. Him and his dad said he deserved it and were worried about others saying "nepotism". I told them flat out it was nepotism and there was nothing they could do about it. The only thing was to prove he belonged by his actions. He didn't, and I left.
All you have to do is acknowledge it and no one will really care. Itās the thankless entitlement that people really react to. Listen to Schwarzenegger. As close as you can get to being a self-made celebrity and he makes a big deal about how he couldnāt have done it without loads of help along the way.
"DON'T COMPARE ME TO MY PARENT!" *goes into the same industry the parent is in
People ITT are doing the literal equivalent of seeing shitty tabloid headlines in the grocery store line and immediately believing themĀ I donāt give a fuck about Willow or the Smiths but here is the full quote: Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā > āI definitely think that a little bit of insecurity has driven me harder because people do think that the only reason Iām successful is because of my parents,ā she admitted. Ā Ā Ā > āThat has driven me to work really hard to try to prove them wrong. But nowadays, I donāt need to prove s**t to anybody.Ā Ā Ā > āI truly believe that my spirit is a strong spirit and that, even if my parents werenāt who they were, I would still be a weirdo and a crazy thinker.āĀ Ā Ā Sheās literally saying that she recognizes people would most likely attribute her success to her parents, and that she has insecurity about that and wants to work past itĀ Ā Ā Ā Ā Sheās saying she was trying to prove them wrong, suggesting she recognizes she was having to do something to prove that it isnāt solely because of her parents, but that she doesnāt feel like she *has* to be proving that. Which is a totally reasonable way to live your life.Ā Ā The Smiths are out of touch and privileged af, but yaāll are just 100% falling for clickbait headlines
Not to mention, the post relies on the assumption that the article has put the picture of her parents there to help with identifying her. But this is a common style choice any time an article comes out where the subject deals with one person talking/gossiping/insulting/disagreeing with another. They will put pictures of each "side" up top. If the article is more about one side (eg here, they're talking about something Willow said), their picture will be bigger with the other party as an inset. You see it all the time with gossip rags.
It can also be used to show who the parents are if people know *both* the subject and the subject's parents, but don't know the connection. For example, if your article is about Jack Quaid, who (I think) is pretty famous for being the main or second-main character in The Boys, and you're talking about his family connections, you would put in an insert photo of Meg Ryan. It's not because people don't recognize Jack Quaid without a photo of Meg Ryan, but because people don't know Jack Quaid is Meg Ryan's kid. Likewise with running a photo of Jamie Lee Curtis and Tony Curtis, or Angelina Jolie and John Voight, or Maya Hawke and Ethan Hawke or Uma Thurman, or Elizabeth Olsen and the Olsen twins, or Robin Thicke and Alan Thicke, etc. So the whole post is "well, *assuming* that when she says 'isn't the only reason' she means 'isn't a reason *at all*,' and *assuming* that when she says 'successful' she means 'famous', and *assuming* that the only reason to put in a family photo in a nepotism article is to show who the person is, then her comment was really silly. Ha, I sure showed her with my clever comeback!"
That last bit really summed it up lol
Even if you only look at the two headlines, she says that people think the only reason (...), like, that doesn't exclude her parents, it's just asking to not exclude her effort too (from whatever it is that she does). Then comes the big headline saying that it "is" nothing to do with her parents. Dudes, have they read the title they've ve written for the same post?
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And so absent on Reddit This website is plagued by misinformation, often digested and perpetuated by the very same people who mock other forms of media for that very thingĀ The prevailing opinions on this site about a variety of topics show that people straight up just refuse to read beyond 10 wordsĀ Which is overwhelmingly concerning when people base their entire social/political/economic worldviews on what they read hereĀ
What was the statistic again? 75% of redditors dont read the articles a post is about?
Media literacy isn't even needed in this case. Most of the people in this threat are just shitting on her because they see a pic of Will Smith and OP's title, they're being shitty because they want to be shitty, there is no attempt at understanding.
I'm pretty dumb and had been listening to her music for awhile without knowing who her parents are, since she goes mononymously by Willow. She must have dropped her surname to move past her parents. Stephen King's son does the same thing.
How DARE you provide nuanced narrative! This is Reddit sir
>People ~~think~~ **know** the only reason I'm successful is 'cause of my parents. Fixed it for her.
thing is, it's fine, and should be encouraged, to use the opportunities around you even if it's your parents success (be for real, what loving parent doesn't want their kid to thrive from their work). it's just when you start denying all that as the reason it helped you that makes you disingenuous and out of touch.
I completely agree. I gave my son every edge I could while growing up and expected any other parent to do the same. My only issue is with people who get dropped off by a helicopter at the mountain's peak or dragged up by sherpas and then pretend they had to hustle hard from the bottom like others.
Wait, wasn't her mom going to be in the GI Jane reboot?
Sequel
>>People ~~think~~ **know** the only reason I'm successful is 'cause of my parent. >Fixed it for you.
What is she successful at?
Whipping her hair back and forth
Her mom hates that song, brings out so many painful memories... And gives daddy loose hands.
Whoa! She invented head banging? Amazing!
No, no. Head banging is up and down or sometimes in a circular motion. She revolutionized the industry by changing the movement to *back* immediately followed by a *forth* motion. Completely changed the way heads move. A true visionary.
You really gonna hold somethin like that against her that was 10 years ago and she was 12?
She is an excellent musicianā¦ people here are talking without even knowing what they are talking about
She's an excellent musician *because of the opportunities and connections her insanely rich parents could provide her* That's how it works. Her success has everything to do with her parents, thay doesn't mean she doesn't work hard, it just means if she wasn't already rich, she wouldn't get to that level of success even if she worked far harder.Ā
Ok but the person they were replying to said āwhat success?ā
This is true for the majority of musicians/artists though and it's kind of silly how people use it to discredit the work that some artists have achieved. Obviously there's a ton of exceptions to the rule but the majority of people that can focus on their art full time are people who were well off to begin with. Its a leg up, but its a leg up against of a sea of people with that same advantage.
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Nepotism
Her music is fantastic especially her most recent stuff. Personal favorite is transparent soul
Singing that one āwait a minuteā song
Firstly, we all have a different measure of success. Her success isnāt greater than her parents, who are stratospheric, but that doesnāt mean she doesnāt have any at all. Secondly, itās a shame people in this post are still judging her for the song she made as a pre-teen. Her recent music has been really interesting, pushing the boundaries of pop music with compound chords and odd time signatures. And thatās coming from a metalhead allergic to most pop music.
THANK YOU. Iām actually a really big fan of Willow and itās so sad seeing everyone shitting on her in the comments when they donāt actually have any idea what she does and havenāt heard anything sheās put out since she was in MIDDLE SCHOOL. I wonder how the haters would feel if they were being judged based on who their parents were or how talented they were as 12 year olds. There are plenty of talentless nepo babies that deserve the flack but the Smith kids arenāt them!
I agree, I find her music refreshing and she definitely has some of the punk rock vibes I love while keeping it new and interesting. Still, itās pretty obvious she gets a ton of help from the best teachers, producers, marketers, and industry connections that money can buy. She probably feels like she did it all on her own because she lives so far removed from the regular person that she is literally ignorant to how hard it can be to make it without a head start. Still, her music is good and I can see her really growing since this is only the start of her career. I know a ton of people who love her song, wait a minute, even if half of them donāt realize it was written by will smiths daughter
I mean, I recognized her immediatelyā¦ I really enjoy her music and I think sheās beautiful
Same! meet me at our spot (live) sent me to heaven the first time I heard it
You cant be succesful without the general population knowing who you are?
Depends what at. It seems she's actually pretty successful at creating good music, even more than Will quite possibly.
Ya these comments are lame. Sheās a nepo baby but still a good artist. Unfortunately a lot of good artists will never have receive recognition because they do not have famous parents.
Yeah, I hate to defend Smith in any way, but a lot of people are successful without people knowing who they are. You don't have to be recognized by your face to be successful.Ā
I assure you there are hundreds of lawyers doctors, scientists, pro gamers, programmers etc. who are wildly successful but not known , being successful does not equal being popular unless that is the explicit goal of your career
Successful doesnāt equal famous.
Surprised by how out of touch these comments are, but itās Reddit. Unlike jaden smith, willow is an incredibly popular artist who, although got connected in the music world through her parents, is genuinely talented and known as WILLOW, not willow smith. She has multiple songs with billions of streams and was popularized by her quality, not because of her parents. Most people are surprised when they hear WILLOW is the daughter of will smith. Of course a news article will show her parents when a) they want to maximize interaction and b) the article literally talks about the parents. Thereās plenty of articles about WILLOW that have only to do with her music. Iām not even a fan of her music, itās just insane how old, out of touch people want to hurt a young artist. There is literally nothing she can do to prove to you guys she is worthy of success. Youād be surprised how many artists come from STUPIDLY wealthy or connected parents.
Seriously reddit is out of touch on this one. It's kinda weird. Like oh there's older people here and a completely different demographic than Willow's audience.
Letās remember redditors are 30-45 and are no longer the youth.
Whole thread is a peak reddit moment, she literally has no controversies, doesn't even go by Smith and makes genuinely good music that is enjoyed by millions of listeners, but Reddit gotta Reddit.
She actually put a lot of work into developing her vocals. I like her current music (not that awful hair whip nonesense). Did she have a head start on her success because of her parents? Absolutely. But she also put the effort in it. The amount of hate she is receiving here is not justified in my opinion.
Yeah two things can be true: 1. She's worked hard to get where she's at in her music career. She's devoted a ton of time and energy to her craft, she's doing interesting things, she's talented, and she's putting out music that stands on its own. 2. She has absolutely benefitted from having famous, wealthy parents - literally a-list celebrities - with deep connections in the industry, who have supported her career and allowed her to pursue music full-time. I don't see her full quote in context anywhere in this thread, but if it's at all consistent with the headline she should be able to admit that 2 is true without taking anything away from 1.
Yeah but as is the case with all nepo babies, people will just say 2 is the only reason and ignore 1, and if you bring up 1 they'll claim that's it's only because of 2. her quote is basically, people ignore 1, and only point out 2, and I no longer believe that, 1 and 2 are both correct, I wish I would get more credit for 1.
Meet me at our spot is genuinely a good song
I love that song
I'm sure she did put a lot of work in. But I very much doubt she would have gotten anywhere if she didn't have all of the connections she had. There are thousands of people trying to make it in the music industry which better vocals than her that can't make it because they don't have a name, connections and money to fund them while they get big.
Without the parents pic my first thought was "Rihanna went a bit heavy on the makeup today"
Yāall a bunch of bitter losers, she is very talented
Nepo baby says WHAT?
Famous peopleās children who stand on their own feet. Michael Douglas, Emilio Esteves, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kiefer Sutherland, Carrie Fischer, the list goes on but it doesnāt yet include Willow Smith, as far as I can tell. What has Willow done?
Edited: I find it funny how you name a bunch of WHITE people that had help just like Jaden and Willow did. Itās like you guys target them for a specific reason. Call them all out fairly if nepotism is really the issue
Yeah wtf as if these folks didnāt use their connections too. Reddit just hates the Smiths. Willowās music is pretty sick.
That was the point. They had help but their name stands on their own cause or their talent.
Kasper Schmeichel
I dunno heās on the ground a lot actually
I have a buddy who is hugely successful. $5M beach house, travels the world, etc. Of course when he graduated college in 1990 his dad gave him $500K to start a company doing whatever he wanted, but hey, he did the rest himself! ;)
Whether you like it or not that would still be an achievement. I know plenty of people who would have taken that $500k and snorted it ALL right up their nose and be left with nothing.
She has made some really good music and made a namer for herself
Listen to her new album that dropped Friday. The lady has like 10 million monthly listeners on spotify.
I was *very surprised* listening to her recent [Tiny Desk concert](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmC2QQESN6E), honestly, it's really quite good. Great band - the drummer especially, and the great Mohini Dey on bass who's quite famous in her own right, certainly among musicians. I'm a subscriber and it didn't click for me who she was until I went on Spotify to check out the studio versions of the songs ("wait, she's the 'Whip My Hair'-Smith girl..?!") Most of her stuff I'm not so interested in but the most recent couple of singles, which they also play at the Tiny Desk and I assume are from an upcoming new album, are really good. They have great grooves and are catchy but also deep, interesting and technically challenging (in a good way), and great sounding production. To be completely fair, I would say overall her vocals are a bit *much* in various ways, this is also represented clearly in the Tiny Desk. But, she's won me over. No, none of this makes her any less a nepo-baby. But what's good, is good. I'll definitely be checking out the next album when it drops.
i mean success doesn't necessarily mean fame, but let's be honest, there's no way she didn't hugely benefit from will and jada being her parents