Lily Allen says 'Nepo baby' is 'sexist' as term is only used for women

•  The songstress said it was an insult aimed at women who ‘should just go away’
• She previously said she spent more time with her dogs than her showbiz dad 

The term ‘nepo baby’ is sexist because women get called it but men do not, Lily Allen has claimed.

The hitmaker and daughter of well-known actor Keith Allen hit out at the phrase, saying she gets called it ‘all the time’ while her brother, actor Alfie, avoids it.

The Smile singer, 39, added that the jibe was ‘infantilising’ and compared it to the insult ‘Karen’ – because it is used to target women.

She told her Miss Me? podcast: ‘Nepo babies, I think its quite like “Karen”, in the sense that it’s just a word that is basically used for women who are taking up space and we’d rather they didn’t and they should just go away.’

Allen and her Game of Thrones actor brother Alfie are the children of comedian Keith Allen, who has made scores of appearances on the big screen, as well as penning the lyrics for football anthem Vindaloo.

Lily and father Keith launch her ‘Lily Loves’ range at New Look on Oxford Street in 2007

Lily and her brother Alfie celebrate a go-karting victory with their dad for a TV show in 1994

Lily poses for photographers upon arrival at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards 2023

Lily Allen attends a Pre-BAFTA party at exclusive London club 5 Hertford Street in February

Allen said she has no problem with nepotism being criticised – and even admitted there was ‘some truth’ to it – but took issue with the term ‘baby’.

She said: ‘I’m called a nepo baby all the time.

‘I actually don’t really mind the nepotism thing, it’s the “baby” that annoys me, it’s like: I’m 40 years old nearly!

‘It’s meant to be infantilising.

‘Also I think it’s something that is almost exclusively used for women, I don’t think I can even really name any male nepo babies.

‘My brother, for instance, he doesn’t get called nepo baby and I do.

‘I feel like a lot of the time over the past 15, 20 years when I’ve been written about it will always say “Lily Allen, daughter of Keith Allen” and I don’t see that happening with boys as often as it does with girls.

‘It’s always like when we’re talking about women in these spaces…there’s like a follow-up of what it really was that put them there.

‘There’s an element of truth to it, I grew up in a certain class bracket, I grew up in and amongst people that worked in media, and I don’t think I’ve ever really disputed that.’

She added: ‘If you grew up in relative poverty, I don’t think there’s really much difference between Keith Allen and Rod Stewart.

‘Obviously there is, but I just think in terms of your proximity to privilege, it’s privileged.’

The singer said she thinks the term comes from her generation of creatives often having to work for free to get ahead.

‘When we were young – especially in the creative industries – there was a lot of having to work for free for a long time in order to get your foot through the door.

‘I think that is a lot of the reason that we have this nepo baby conversation with our generation.

‘Because, it’s only people that are financially comfortable enough, or come from families with enough wealth, disposable income, to support their children while their children are working.

Lily is joined by her father on the red carpet of the Brit Awards in 2007

Lily Allen out with her father in a rainy Cannes in 2008

‘It’s only families that have got money to do that.’

This is not the first time she has explored the topic.

In 2022, she said online that many such ‘nepos’ are be ‘starved of stability and love’ because of their ‘narcissistic’ parents.

In posts on X, she wrote how ‘the nepo babies y’all should be worrying about are the ones working for legal firms, the ones working for banks, and the ones working in politics.’

She added: ‘If we’re talking about real world consequences and robbing people of opportunity. BUT that’s none of my business.’

‘And before you come at me for being a nepo baby myself, I will be the first to tell you that I literally deserve nothing.’

And as far back as 2015, she claimed to have ‘probably spent more time walking my dogs than I have with my dad my entire life’, in response to online bullies.

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