Lily-Rose Depp Is More 'Careful' Now About the 'Nepo Baby' Debate

In case you somehow missed it, the 23-year-old star — who's the daughter of A-list actor Johnny Depp and famous French singer Vanessa Paradis — came under fire this past November after she appeared to dismiss the critics who accused her of benefiting from the privilege, opportunities and nepotism that comes with having famous parents.

"I’m familiar. The internet seems to care a lot about that kind of stuff," Depp told Elle in response to the viral discourse, which was initially launched by a New York Magazinecover story that used her as an example of a "nepo baby" alongside the children of other celebrities, such as Zoë Kravitz, Maude Apatow and Dakota Johnson.

"People are going to have preconceived ideas about you or how you got there, and I can definitely say that nothing is going to get you the part except for being right for the part," she continued before claiming that "the internet cares a lot more about who your family is than the people who are casting you in things."

"Maybe you get your foot in the door, but you still just have your foot in the door," Depp continued. "There’s a lot of work that comes after that."

Despite the backlash, her interview ended up spurring a number of other alleged "nepo babies" and their parents to push back against the label, with everyone from Lottie Moss to Tom Hanks weighing in on the discussion. However, Depp herself has now responded to the issue she helped kickstart in a new article tied to her role in Robert Eggers' Nosferatu and her upcoming HBO series, The Idol.

"I'm so careful about these conversations now," as she told i-D. "I feel like my parents did the best job that they possibly could at giving me the most ‘normal childhood' that they could. And obviously, that still was not a normal childhood. I'm super aware of the fact that my childhood did not look like everybody's."

Depp then went on to say that the world of celebrity and fame was the only thing she knew, meaning she has "to find comfort in it somehow." That said, she also said that she was "really lucky" to have "people who value normalcy and who value real life and I think that's the only way to exist in this world and not go insane," prior to admitting that she sometimes has to "bring myself back down to earth and go, ‘Girl, you don't matter that much'" in situations like this.

"We're having this conversation because I am privileged enough to get to do the job that I'm so passionate about," as Depp said. "There's good and bad sides to everything. If I have to deal with a little bit of anxiety to keep doing what I love, then I'm ready."

You can read everything Depp had to say to i-D about the debate here.

Photo via Getty / George Pimentel / WireImage