Willow Smith's 'nepo baby' labelling spurred her on to ‘prove them wrong’

3 May 2024

Willow Smith said being called a “nepo baby” encouraged her to work hard to “prove them wrong”.

Willow Smith said being called a 'nepo baby' encouraged her to work hard to 'prove them wrong'

The 23-year-old singer, who is the daughter of Will Smith, 55, and Jada Pinkett Smith, 52, admitted she was “wrongly internalising the negativity from the outside” due to her privileged background, but was determined to carve her own path.

Speaking with Allure magazine, she said: “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 [anything] to anybody.

“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.”

When she was just seven years old, Willow made her Hollywood debut alongside her father in 2007’s ‘I Am Legend’, and released her chart-topper ‘Whip My Hair’ three years later.

The actress admitted she was “totally scarred” after her track went platinum when she was just 10 years old.

She said: “I was totally scarred. But so many Black girls and women were inspired by that.”

Willow also argued her race acted as an obstacle for a successful career in the entertainment business, but emphasised she wouldn’t change her skin colour if she could.

She explained: “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. People would look at me and [say], ‘Okay, well, her parents are 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 singer then addressed rumours claiming she is “difficult” to work with, and insisted people simply misinterpret her drive to “get to that goal”.

She said: “I’ve always been afraid of being perceived as difficult. In this society, a woman who knows what she wants is always perceived as being ‘difficult’. 

“I’m not being difficult, I just know what I want. And I’m willing to sacrifice the chillness of the moment for trying to get to that goal.”