Don't try to pin the "nepo baby" status on Willow Smith.
In an interview with Allure Magazine, the 23-year-old detailed that although her parents are Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, she's dismissing all talks of benefiting from nepotism.
Like her older brother, Jaden Smith, Willow has built a fruitful music career, and will deliver her sixth album, Empathogen, on May 3, but regardless of having famous parents, she'd still be a "weirdo and a crazy thinker."
“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," she told the publication.
She continued, "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.’"
Willow also explained that while she does benefit from "privilege," that due to being "Black in America," she doesn't quite fit the "nepo baby" mold. “Being Black in America, even with privilege, which I'm never going to deny that I have, you're still Black. And I love being Black," she said.
"People would look at me and [say], ‘Okay, well, her parents are this and this and that, but she still is like me. She still has brown skin.’ And we all know that that doesn't exempt you from anything, and that's a place of connection.”
The "nepo baby" conversation has been an awkward topic in recent years for celebrities like Zooey Deschanel, Lily-Rose Depp, Maya Rudolph, and others who are related to Hollywood stars or those who are industry-adjacent. But Willow's closeness to her parents has opened doors for her singing career, like her father having her signed to Roc Nation in the late 2000s, where she released her breakout single, "Whip My Hair," as a child.
