'Nepo baby' Willow Smith says people are wrong in thinking her success is 'because of my parents'

Willow Smith has hit back at claims she's a nepo baby arguing her parents aren't the 'only reason' she's successful.

With multiple creatives having come forward to reject being labelled a 'nepo baby' such as Zooey Deschanel and Maya Rudolph, Willow Smith has now entered the discussion.

The 23-year-old - full name Willow Camille Reign Smith - is a singer and actor, alongside also being the daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith.

She's starred in I Am Legend alongside her dad, but also flew from the nest solo for The Lorax and has since gone on to carve out a career in the music industry after releasing her first iconic track 'Whip My Hair' in 2010.

But would she have made it in each industry had it not been for her famous parents?

The question - and whether it's fair to call Willow a nepo baby - has been highly debated on social media.

One X user said: "Jaden and Willow Smith are the most respected nepo babies in my eyes."

However, another argued: "Yes Willow Smith is a nepo baby, but she’s STILL a prodigy, 2 things can be true at once!"

And Willow has since opened up about the labelling.

Willow Smith has a pretty famous family to say the least (Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)

In an interview with Allure, Willow voiced she doesn't believe she quite fits the description of a nepo baby.

And just so we're all clear on the exact definition of a 'nepo baby' - a.k.a. nepotism baby - the Oxford Collins Dictionary states the definition of nepotism is: "The unfair use of power in order to get jobs or other benefits for your family or friends."

But with Will Smith as her dad and Jada Pinkett Smith as her mom, what impact does Willow think that's had on her as a person and her success?

Well, she tells Allure she 'truly' believes her 'spirit is a strong spirit' and even if her parents 'weren't who they were' she'd 'still be a weirdo and a crazy thinker'.

Willow Smith at Paris Fashion Week this year (Edward Berthelot/Getty Images)

She continues: "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 s**t to anybody."

*Mic drop*

On a more serious note, she also said she's still had to fight against racist attitudes in spite of her famous parents, adding: "There have been some experiences where I went into a place that I have worked in the past and my picture could even be up on the wall, and they treat me like, ‘This is a little bit out of your price range’ or ‘You don't really belong here.'

"Being Black in America, even with privilege, which I'm never going to deny that I have, you're still Black."

Topics: Celebrity, Social Media, Twitter, US News, Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, Music

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.