Everyone loves to hate on a nepo baby these days. For those unfamiliar with the term, a nepo baby (short for nepotism baby) is a child of a wealthy person(s) who reaps the many benefits of being born into a world of money, privilege, and power. More specifically, the label refers to a child of a celebrity who has garnered success in the same industry as their parent(s). Think Kaia Gerber and Cindy Crawford, Kate Hudson and Goldie Hawn, Jaden Smith and Will Smith, and many, many others.
So when aspiring actor and musician Deacon Phillippe gave a tour of his pricy New York City apartment, haters came for the 20-year-old son of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe. But here’s our hot take: while Deacon does have a leg-up on other people his age thanks to his parents’ fame and fortune, the criticism was ultimately pretty lame and bitter.
TikTok star Caleb Simpson, who rose to fame by asking fellow NYC residents he passed on the street how much they pay for rent and if he could tour their homes, recently crossed paths with Deacon. After the 20-year-old told Simpson he pays “West Village prices” for his apartment, he consented to show his abode for the TikToker’s page.
The West Village Digs
In the video, Deacon and his roommates — do note the “nepo baby” is humble enough to have roommates even though his mom is one of the most famous actors in the world — walked Simpson through their space, which features an open-concept layout with brick walls, a spiral staircase, lofted ceilings, a spacious kitchen and bathroom for NYC, and plenty of windows that allow natural light to spill into the apartment.
Deacon also gave a peek at his minimalist aesthetic bedroom, which boasted a gray and white color palette with framed photography on his walls and music equipment lining one side of the room.
The Criticism
Quite a few people left bitter comments under the video, with one person writing, “How much do you pay? The correct answer is: ask my mom and dad.” Similarly, another TikTok user commented, “Occupation: student. Parents: Reese Witherspoon & Ryan Philippe.”
Other critics dropped their hot takes, writing, “West village prices is rich kid language for free 😂” and “This is 1M times nicer than anywhere I lived in school,” among many other sour digs at Deacon.
The Rebuttle
Heartwarmingly enough, tons of people also came to the 20-year-old’s defense. One person wrote, “Why are people being mean? He’s in school. Seems humble. Has roommates. Plenty of NYU kids also come from rich families…”
Another TikTok user commented, “Not a regular college student, Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillipe son so he can get any apartment he wants even so he got roommates he looks chill 🔥.”
The fact that Deacon lives with several roommates pleasantly surprised many people, with someone else writing, “Impressed he has roommates. Rack up those experience points!” Another person summed up the situation perfectly in six words: “He seems sweet. People are jelly.”
Yes, the aspiring entertainer has a much nicer place than many other people his age, even considering he has roommates. However, the reality is that’s what’s accessible to him, and he’s not required to tone down the way he lives to make himself more palatable to strangers. Anyone in his shoes would take advantage of a good financial standing — and let’s be clear, he’s not extorting his generational wealth.
It would be one thing if Deacon were being cocky and showing off a truly outrageous home, but that’s not at all what he was doing. In fact, we argue his living situation is pretty modest all things considered, and he came across as kind, down-to-earth, and friendly. Despite the noise in the comments, it’s clear many other people agree.
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