Fellow nepo babies can learn a thing or two from actor Allison Williams.
Williams, the daughter of former NBC news anchor Brian Williams, spoke about understanding her privilege ― and also “deeply” understanding why people have “hated” her so much ― in a new interview with The New York Times.
“First, the theater kid energy is triggering for a lot of people,” the “Girls” actor shared. “There’s a reason I don’t sing regularly. I get to do it once a decade without it becoming too annoying.”
“The other thing is, I have so many different layers of privilege that it’s hard for me to put together the idea of a person it would be less fun to root for,” she added. “I’m much more satisfying to root against. I really get it. I really, really get it.”
The 37-year-old added that she has always “cared about what people think about me.”
“I still do, but I can’t begrudge people their reactions,” she admitted.
“To not acknowledge that me getting started as an actress versus someone with zero connections isn’t the same — it’s ludicrous,” Williams told Vulture in an interview in 2023.
The “M3gan” star has made similarly honest [heartening?] comments about her privilege before, which have also won her praise.
“All that people are looking for is an acknowledgment that it’s not a level playing field. It’s just unfair,” Williams told Vulture back in 2023.
“Period, end of the story, and no one’s really working that hard to make it fair,” she shared. “To not acknowledge that me getting started as an actress versus someone with zero connections isn’t the same — it’s ludicrous. It doesn’t take anything away from the work that I’ve done. It just means that it’s not as fun to root for me.”
Williams’ acknowledgment of her leg up in life separates her from some other children of celebrities, who have denied that their privilege ― or their famous relatives ― helped them in any way.
Kate Hudson told The Independent back in 2022 that she doesn’t “really care” about “the nepotism thing.”
“I look at my kids and we’re a storytelling family. It’s definitely in our blood,” Hudson said at the time. “People can call it whatever they want, but it’s not going to change it. I actually think there are other industries where it’s [more common]. Maybe modeling? I see it in business way more than I see it in Hollywood.”
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“I don’t care where you come from, or what your relationship to the business is,” she added. “If you work hard and you kill it, it doesn’t matter.”