A conversation about “nepo babies” on Today With Jenna & Friends “struck a cord” with host Jenna Bush Hager, who used it as an opportunity to defend herself and her sister against assumptions people may have about their family.
Bush Hager and her guest host for the week, Justin Sylvester, were discussing White Lotus Season 3 breakout star Patrick Schwarzenegger when the topic came up. Schwarzenegger is an actor with previous roles in Gen V and The Staircase, but he is also notably the son of Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“People talk about nepo babies in Hollywood. I think nepo babies have to work twice as hard, because the eyes are on them, people want them to fail,” Sylvester said.
Bush Hager was playfully twirling a finger at herself as Sylvester spoke before launching into her own rant about the controversial label.
“I was gonna say, sometimes my children say nepo babies, and I’m like I mean I kind of am one kids,” she said. “But also, I think it’s hard because people want them to fail.”
Bush Hager, whose father and grandfather both served as president of the United States, went on to explain that she and her twin sister, Barbara Bush, became “serious workaholics” to prove themselves after growing up in the public eye.
“I think it’s because we want to prove to people it isn’t always easy, that we work really hard. I think if you ask people around here they’ll say that and it’s also like, that’s important,” she said.
In addition to their work, Bush Hager and her sister have published multiple books together, including the 2017 dual autobiography Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life.
“I’m glad I work really hard and I’m glad I have the family that I have but I also at some point have to be like, ‘Okay I did it, I proved it,’” she added, calling the concept “a double edged sword.”
She then asked Sylvester to continue discussing his original point on nepo babies, admitting the topic “struck a cord” with her.
“Just so everyone knows, nepo babies are everywhere,” Sylvester said. “But Patrick Schwarzenegger as an actor is going to be criticized twice as much as any other actor, and he is killing it.”
Today with Jenna & Friends airs on weekdays at 10/9c on NBC.
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