Michael Douglas criticises 'nepo baby' label ahead of memoir release

Mixed · 2Actor Michael Douglas, son of the late Kirk Douglas, has publicly objected to the term "nepo baby" in recent interviews tied to his memoir "One Helluva Ride", which is released on 6 October. 1 2 Left · 1On the Smartless podcast, with hosts Sean Hayes, Jason Bateman and Will Arnett, Douglas said "this 'nepo' thing really pisses me off", adding that he knows of no career where a father or mother doesn't try to help a son or daughter get into the business, and questioning why this field was singled out because of its well-known aspect (Variety). 2 Right · 1In an interview with the Sunday Times, as reported by the Daily Mail, Douglas said the phrase had a "snotty tone to it I really kind of resent", and that few so-called "nepos" had the kind of career he and his father had. 1

Right · 1Douglas argued that in every other business parents help their children, citing family firms named "so and so and son, or daughter", while in entertainment people are criticised for the same thing. 1 Right · 1The Daily Mail says the remarks come weeks after Douglas's wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, called the term "horrific", and notes that their children Dylan, 26, and Carys, 23, are trying to build acting careers; Dylan appeared in the thriller I Will Come to You and Carys made an off-Broadway stage debut in The Seagull in July. 1 Left · 1Variety also reports Douglas's advice to aspiring actors to recognise "good material", and recaps Kirk Douglas's career (he died in 2020 aged 103) and Michael Douglas's own Oscars for Wall Street and, as co-producer, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. 2

Right · 1The Daily Mail devotes much of its article to excerpts from the memoir, in which Douglas admits to an affair with co-star Kathleen Turner during the filming of Romancing the Stone in 1984, which both had long denied; Turner told the paper she looked forward to the book. 1