Zelda Williams Addresses Nepotism in Hollywood

Zelda Williams has written an open letter addressing what she’s “often found to be a popular view on … an entire generation of the children of actors, singers, producers, directors, and entertainment professionals in general.”

“Having heard the word ‘nepotism’ thrown around my entire life, even before I decided to purse [sic] an acting career, it is nothing new to hear similar words discussed now. But I finally feel the need to address some things,” the 22-year-old actress (and daughter of Robin Williams) writes on her Tumblr page.

“Is it a fool’s errand to even give in to such a fruitless discussion? Perhaps. But while I’ve never been one to listen to naysayers I am protective of my friends and colleagues and I’ve found myself more and more concerned by how negatively people have been treating us of late,” Zelda adds. “It’s time someone shed some light on the subject, perhaps started an actual educated conversation about it. Hey, a girl can dream, right?”

Click inside to read Zelda‘s full letter…

Regarding Progeny (A Letter by and About the Actor Children of Actors)

FYI: This is an open letter addressing what I’ve often found to be a popular view on the ‘kids of’, an entire generation of the children of actors, singers, producers, directors and entertainment professionals in general.

EDIT: Sorry, apparently there were some glaring typos that needed fixing. I wrote this in about an hour the other night in a passionate fit without editing… heck, I didn’t even really flesh out some of the ideas I’d meant to. Regardless, fixed some of the typos (message me if you find more) and added a brief paragraph.

To whom it may concern,

Having heard the word ‘nepotism’ thrown around my entire life, even before I decided to purse an acting career, it is nothing new to hear similar words discussed now. But I finally feel the need to address some things. Is it a fool’s errand to even give in to such a fruitless discussion? Perhaps. But while I’ve never been one to listen to naysayers I am protective of my friends and colleagues and I’ve found myself more and more concerned by how negatively people have been treating us of late. It’s time someone shed some light on the subject, perhaps started an actual educated conversation about it. Hey, a girl can dream, right?

However, I would like to make it clear that while I’m speaking about a generation I am a part of, I’m not speaking FOR them. These are my views alone.

It’s interesting to me that so many people out there seem to enjoy harshly judging the children of entertainment professionals if they follow in their parent’s footsteps. However, these critical views aren’t original and they certainly aren’t new. People have always made presumptions about those who have attempted to be a part of the same industry as their previously successful parents and much of it as I’ve experienced becomes disdain. Success or even participation is often met with claims of favoritism, or nepotism, or perhaps the parent’s relevant connections playing a large role in their ascension. They cry that it’s unfair, that they are undeserving, that they couldn’t possibly have done it on their own.

And while I’m sure I’ll be frowned upon for crying ‘sexism’, I find that this sort of negativity is often particularly thrown at the daughter’s of actors (a group of which I am a part), especially when it comes to looks. But the physical expectations placed on women in the entertainment world aside, there’s a presumption of my own I’d like to make: I think most of the shade thrown at the children of successful parents stems from the fact many people don’t want to believe that lightning (or in this case the perfect mixture of luck and talent) could possibly strike twice in the same gene pool.

Though this might surprise some of you, I don’t entirely disagree.

Believe it or not, there are a few of us among this supposedly ‘gifted’ or ‘spoiled’ generation (depending on who you ask) that are realists. I know many ‘children of’ who are very aware (and usually very self-aware) of the effort it took for their parents to succeed, as well as the chilly reception they will receive pursuing the same success until they ‘prove themselves’. It is this very knowledge that usually causes them to pound the pavement twice as hard in an effort to attack these pre-conceived notions with admirable fervor. Can you blame them? Whether they choose to directly follow in their parents’ footsteps or take a similar but divergent path, they’re bound to face resistance. On my part, I know that some of this drive directly stems from insecurity. After all, we’re judged so harshly already, why give anyone an actual reason to find us lacking? But those inherent anxieties aside, I do find that there is one enormous benefit to being the child of an actor that helps in our efforts to succeed in a very difficult realm of work.

And it’s not one that can be explained away by money or connections.

Though I could be naïve in saying so, I think the invaluable knowledge attained even just growing up around the industry and our parents is our biggest asset as a second (or third) generation entertainer. Whether through watching or listening, a lot of us are very conscious of the ways that we could fail at what we’re working to accomplish. After all, our parents have either avoided or fallen prey to these very traps before us. On my part, I strive that much harder to avoid some of these pitfalls, ones that perhaps my fellow non-actor-progeny may stumble into. Now, if anything were to be called our unfair advantage by birth, I would think it would be this… but then, learning from previous generations mistakes has never been humanity’s strength, no matter the profession. But I digress.

This knowledge is not the only thing I can think of that could possibly be deserving of the jealousy or disdain of others, but it is the one that has had the most lasting effect on me. But who am I to talk? After all, my first movie was with my father, I’m sure that’d lead many to call me a hypocrite. And I did a set of commercials with him for Nintendo regarding the games my parents named me after, I doubt those help either. But take a second to think: were you in my shoes, would you have really done any differently? The latter was an incredible opportunity that helped me with my house, my savings… the former was my first break, and came after months of auditioning and vetting. I was a child when I got that first role, and I’d earned the part and wanted to give it a shot. I didn’t realize that so many would be opposed to my very participation, no matter how I did in the film.

In the end you can’t choose the parents you’re born to, but you CAN choose what career you decide to pursue. And whether you want to be an actor, a scientist or a lawyer, if you were born into a family that had succeeded at that very same profession you would want to learn firsthand from their successes and mistakes too. And though this may seem unrelated I would like it to be noted that it also helped that despite my parents’ success and the prevalence of the industry in our lives, they gave me the most wonderful, relatively normal childhood that a girl could ask for. I travelled, learned and made my own discoveries and mistakes from the relative privacy of my childhood home in San Francisco. I went to school every day, like a normal kid, and dealt with the same issues any child faces: bullying, bad grades and good, peer pressure. I read every book I could get my hands on, tried every sport imaginable, and overall had a wonderful and blessed childhood and for that I am eternally grateful. I know for many this is not the case… and I know the circumstances of my birth and the opportunities I am given are extremely rare. I’m well aware of where most of the outside anger or jealousy stems from. But I’m still grateful to my parents for raising me well enough to be thankful and aware of all of the things I have. I will never take that for granted.

But while they raised me well, taught me to be independent and helped advise me on whatever field of work I should wish to pursue, I still chose to be an actor through my late teens and a writer now. So to all those may think my parents chose this life for me or groomed it to await my arrival, the only thing they did was provide me with such a great upbringing that I became a strong and independent enough woman to look at this scary industry and still choose it for myself.

In any case, to whoever is reading this, I am in no way discrediting or denying you your own opinion. Hell, by even pursuing a career in the public eye I knew that I should at the very least expect others to have their own opinions on me, my life and my family, whether they were informed enough or not. But no matter your views on me, my abilities, my peers or this industry, I’d like to thank you for reading this. If nothing else, it means there are at least a few others out there who are interested in and have now heard one other side to a many faceted discussion.

Hopefully, I’m not the only one who wants to hear them all.

Much love,
Zelda Rae Williams