Itgirls.blog

Let’s talk about the uncomfortable side of being a “nepo baby.”

We all know the term nepo baby. You’re probably used to seeing it all over TikTok, Instagram and basically every fashion discussion ever. A famous last name, famous parents, opportunities that seem to appear out of nowhere — and suddenly everyone has an opinion.

One person who has been part of this conversation is Presley Gerber, the son of supermodel Cindy Crawford and businessman Rande Gerber.

And honestly, his story brings up a much bigger question:

Can someone be privileged and still struggle with their mental health?

The answer is obviously yes. But somehow, the internet makes this way more complicated than it needs to be.

THE PRESSURE OF A FAMOUS LAST NAME

Being born into a famous family obviously comes with advantages. Let’s not pretend it doesn’t.Having parents who are already successful can give you connections, opportunities and access to an industry that most people would have to spend years trying to enter.

But there is another side to it.

Imagine growing up knowing that people are going to compare you to your parents basically forever.Presley isn’t just Presley. To the public, he’s Cindy Crawford’s son.

And when you enter an industry like fashion, where appearance, success and image are constantly judged, that can create a completely different type of pressure.People can question whether you actually earned your opportunities or whether your last name did the work for you.

So you’re put in this weird situation where you have to prove yourself, while everyone is already convinced they know exactly why you’re successful.

“BUT HE HAS EVERYTHING…”

This is probably the biggest argument whenever a celebrity talks about mental health.“They’re rich.” “They’re famous.” “They have everything.”

“What could they possibly be sad about?”There are people who struggle with serious financial problems, unsafe environments and situations that wealthy people may never have to experience. Money can absolutely make certain problems easier to deal with.

But money isn’t a magic cure for mental health.You can have a huge house and still feel lonely.You can have millions of followers and still feel insecure.You can have opportunities that other people dream about and still feel lost.

Two things can be true at the same time.

Someone can be extremely privileged AND struggle mentally.Someone can be grateful for their life AND still have bad days.Someone can have access to everything and still not know how to deal with their emotions.

MENTAL HEALTH DOESN’T HAVE A “TYPE”

I think sometimes we treat mental health like there’s a specific person who is “allowed” to struggle.If someone is poor, we understand why they might be struggling.If someone is going through something traumatic, we understand.

But if someone is rich or famous? Suddenly it’s:

“You have no reason to be sad.”

But who decides how much suffering is enough before someone’s feelings become valid?Mental health isn’t something you have to earn.It doesn’t belong to rich people.It doesn’t belong to poor people.It doesn’t belong to celebrities.

It’s for everyone.

And saying that doesn’t mean we should ignore privilege.We can still talk about nepotism. We can still criticize unfair opportunities. We can still acknowledge that some people have advantages that others don’t.But we don’t need to turn mental health into a competition.

THE REAL PROBLEM WITH THE “NEPO BABY” LABEL

The word nepo baby can be useful when we’re talking about privilege in industries like fashion, film and music.But sometimes the internet stops seeing the person and only sees the label.

Instead of seeing an actual human being, we see:

“Cindy Crawford’s son.”

“Rich kid.”

“Nepo baby.”

And once someone gets put into that category, people can start believing that nothing they experience is real.But having a famous surname doesn’t mean you stop being a person.You can criticize someone’s career opportunities without invalidating their emotions.You can acknowledge their privilege without deciding that they aren’t allowed to struggle.

SO, WHAT SHOULD WE ACTUALLY TAKE FROM THIS?

I don’t think the point is that we should feel sorry for every celebrity just because they’re famous.And I definitely don’t think being privileged automatically makes someone’s problems more serious than someone else’s.It’s actually the opposite.

Everyone’s mental health matters.

The girl with 20 followers.The model walking a runway.The teenager sitting alone.The influencer with millions of followers.The “nepo baby” everyone on TikTok loves to hate.Different lives. Different problems. Same human emotions.

Maybe we should stop asking whether someone is privileged enough to be happy and start remembering that being privileged doesn’t make you immune to being human.

♡ IT GIRLS TAKE: You don’t have to compare your struggles to someone else’s to decide whether your feelings are valid. And you don’t have to ignore someone’s privilege to have empathy for them. Both can exist at the same time.