Lily-Rose Depp's Nepotism Comments Have Eyes Rolling

Lily-Rose Depp, daughter of Johnny Depp, has been adamant that she doesn't love being in the spotlight. As she explained in an interview with W back in 2019, fame gives her "a ton of anxiety" and that hasn't changed much in the years since. Indeed, she's been doing her best to keep her private and professional lives separate. Case in point: She doesn't have Twitter, her Instagram is filled with mostly work-related shots, and she's refused to address her dad's controversies.

What she will talk about, however, is her budding acting career and that's exactly what she did when she sat down with Elle in November 2022. In the in-depth interview, Depp promoted her leading role in HBO's upcoming series "The Idol," which co-stars The Weeknd and is set to premiere in 2023. In the show, she plays a pop star who's seduced by a cult leader, per Collider, and as she told Elle, her role is meant to expose the dark and difficult side of fame.

That's something she's all too familiar with. "I know my childhood didn't look like everybody's childhood, and it's a very particular thing to deal with," she shared, adding that now she's older, it's become harder. "It's different experiencing [fame] firsthand rather than by proxy." Depp then attempted to explain just how difficult it can be to undergo constant scrutiny, but her efforts backfired when she chose an eyebrow-raising analogy.

Lily-Rose Depp isn't a fan of social media. As she told Elle, it gives people too much power to say what they otherwise wouldn't. That's why she tries to never read online comments. "I can work my ass off ... But there are always going to be some people who don't like me or have a problem with me or think that I'm stupid or ugly or whatever," she shared. Right now, many of those negative comments include labeling her a "nepo baby" i.e. someone who is famous simply because their parents are. 

Admitting that a famous last name can help you get your foot in the door, she said, "I can definitely say that nothing is going to get you the part except for being right for the part." She then gave an example that left Twitter rolling its eyes. "If somebody's mom or dad is a doctor, and then the kid becomes a doctor, you're not going to be like, 'Well, you're only a doctor because your parent is a doctor,'" she shared. "It's like, 'No, I went to medical school and trained.'"

While she did clarify she wasn't comparing herself to a doctor, criticism was swift. "She's 5'2" and walking for Chanel lmao," tweeted one critic. While another slammed, "You never took any theatre classes in your entire life." Yet another called it "the most out of touch thing I've ever heard." One user quipped, "What was the training required for becoming a Chanel ambassador at 16?"