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Willow Smith rarely speaks about her famous parents Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. Despite her relative silence on her family’s private matters, when she has spoken about them, she has been candid about her relationship with her actor parents. Now, considering her parents’ fame, she has been brought into the viral nepo baby debate, and she finally shared her thoughts on being considered one.
The musician seemed to subvert the idea while acknowledging the power of her last name. Smith explained to Allure that “her determination and creative output” don’t meet the trendy term. The multihyphenate gave her take on being different from other celebrity children, saying:
I truly believe that my spirit is a strong spirit and that, even if my parents weren’t who they were, I would still be a weirdo and a crazy thinker. I definitely think that a little bit of insecurity has driven me harder because people do think that the only reason I’m successful is because of my parents. That has driven me to work really hard to try to prove them wrong. But nowadays, I don’t need to prove shit to anybody.
Being the daughter of two Hollywood stars has only driven the occasional actress to push harder for her career. Over time, Smith proved her versatility by carving a lane for herself. Her fortitude proved worthwhile, garnering critical acclaim and popularity over her diverse musical output. She was also correct that her parents’ fame allowed her more artistic freedom than her music contemporaries.
Even though the “Meet Me at the Spot” singer mentioned her parents were “skeptical” of her musical declaration at age 8, they schooled her on music business expectations before releasing her hit single “Whip My Hair.” Pushing the younger Smith to music fame briefly backfired after her movie star father steered her early career. This approach proved to be Will Smith’s one Hollywood regret.
Willow Smith admitted being a Smith hasn’t shielded her from racism as she recalled industry experiences where others treated her like she didn’t “belong here” or was “out of your price range.” The “Transparent Soul” singer doesn’t deny her privilege either. However, being the daughter of celebrities didn’t “exempt” her from discrimination and misperception.
The singer mentioned that Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith stressed being “very respectful” when speaking to others and looking “them in the eyes.”
These comments are part of a greater debate about nepo babies in Hollywood. Over the last year, people like Jamie Lee Curtis have called the discourse hurtful, and Dakota Johnson called it “lame.” Meanwhile, Hailey Bieber made light of the debate, while Maya and Ethan Hawke talked about nepotism in a light-hearted way, with the actor claiming he’s a “nepo dad.” Overall, Willow knows her parents’ fame has helped her, however, she’s also candid about just how hard she’s worked to achieve her goals.
The youngest Smith recently released her jazz-influenced album Empathogen. While Willow Smith hasn’t announced any new film and TV projects, it’s a different story for her famous father. Will Smith will appear on the 2024 movie schedule with Bad Boys: Ride or Die, which hits movie theaters on June 7. You can watch the Bad Boys 4 trailer to keep you occupied until then.