Latest news with #Akon
Daily Mail
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Nepo babies' not-so-humble brag about their status and generational wealth as they embrace label in new trend - but can you guess who their famous parents are?
Nepo babies have really been in the hot seat over the last year - and now rather than rebuffing the identity, they are bragging about it. In a new online trend, the offspring of the rich and famous are making their celebrity-heir status known thanks to the basketball term 'air ball' - a missed basket. Among the nepo babies jumping on the trend are Ava Phillippe, the daughter of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe, Francesca Scorsese and Jackson 5 star Randy Jackson's daughter Zoë. But perhaps winning the trend is Alianna Thiam - given that her dad Akon sings on the track being overlaid on the clips, Soul Survivor. The clips show the nepo babies turn the joke on you for making an 'airball' - a very wrong, and seriously underestimated, assumption about what their parents do for work. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Taking to TikTok, Senegalese-American singer Akon's daughter Alianna shared a picture of himself with the caption: 'Told him my dad was in the music industry.' In the next slide, Alianna could be seen taking a mirror selfie in a lavish apartment as she added a caption with her hypothetical date's response: 'He said "Oh like a manager?"' In a mic drop moment, Alianna's final slide is a sweet picture of her hugging her famous father. Holyfknairball was hashtagged to call out the date's conversational missed basket. Meanwhile Reese's daughter Ava shared a selfie writing: 'I told him my mom's a lawyer. ' The next snap showed Ava and her mum on the set of the iconic film Legally Blonde, with the hypothetical person's very incorrect response mistakenly assuming she means an actual lawyer. The caption on the clip reads 'He said "Oh what firm does she work at?",' and the third slide is the movie poster of Legally Blonde with 'air ball' written over the top. 'Her law degree may not be real... but she did go to Stanford for a bit,' Ava captioned the post. Next up was American Idol judge Randy Jackson's daughter Zoë who put her own spin on the trend by leaving it ambiguous as to what kind of judge he is. 'I told him my dad was a judge,' she said in the first clip, writing in the second: 'He said "Cool! At which court"' She then added a snap of her dad on the talent show. 'It's gonna be a YES for me Dawg,' Zoë captioned her take. And Academy Award-winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese's daughter Francesca also got in on the action - saying she was 'told to do this trend'. 'I told him "My dad is a filmmaker". He said "Oh nice like for commercials or something?",' before dropping a photo of the iconic director. The term nepo baby was coined by a Twitter user in 2022 who was shocked to learn their favourite actress had famous parents. It sparked a fierce debate on whether the children of the rich and famous have been getting an unfair leg up. But the nepo baby path to fame doesn't always run smooth, with many forced to try their hand at several showbiz careers until they find one that sticks. In stark contrast to the air ball trend, some celebrity offspring have taken issue with being branded as such, with TV presenting duo Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan's daughter Chloe going as far as to call the phrase a 'dirty word'. Phoenix Brown, the daughter of Spice Girl Mel B, also recently slammed the 'febrile and poisonous' debate around nepo babies' success in the entertainment industry. She made headlines when she hosted an art exhibition only for it to be a ruse as part of a documentary on nepo babies. 'I told him my dad was a judge,' she said in the first clip, writing in the second: 'He said "Cool! At which court"' She then added a snap of her dad on the talent show Daughter of Spice Girl Mel B, Phoenix Brown, 25, is fronting Channel 4 documentary Born in the Limelight - Nepo Babies: Untold, which first aired in October, and returns to screens again next Thursday. In the documentary Phoenix pretends to reinvent herself as an artist, using her mother's name to stage an exhibition. She sells a painting for £2,000 - but an experts admits that without her famous name it would only be worth £30. But despite admitting that having Mel B as her mum has 'opened doors', Phoenix warns that the levels of 'hate' for nepo babies has never been so high following public obsession with the concept. Meanwhile Brooklyn Beckham's rise to nepo baby success comes after years of being the butt off the joke as he tried to launch various showbiz careers. The eldest child of David and Victoria Beckham has taken jibes in the past over his career changes, having first tried to follow in his footballer father's steps before becoming an aspiring photographer and trying his hand at becoming a chef. In 2017, the then-aspiring photographer released a book named What I See. While in 2020, he was also said to have signed to a major modelling agency, after receiving criticism over his photography. Speaking to Grazia in November, Brooklyn addressed the nepo baby criticism, as he said: 'Obviously I am one. But I couldn't help how I was born, at all.' While he understands why the public can feel irked by nepo babies, Brooklyn said he tries to ignore the 'rubbish' people say rather than dwell on it. He added: 'There's always going to be people that say rubbish. But as long as you do something that makes you happy and you're kind to people, that's all that matters. I'm always gonna get it, no matter what I do. And I'm fine with that. It makes me work harder, because I'm like, I'm gonna prove these people wrong.' When Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban 's daughter Sunday Rose, 16, made her catwalk debut for MiuMiu it didn't get quite the breathless reception the brand was expecting. The teenager's 'stomping' went viral on social media, with people critiquing her style and saying that she looked like a 'petulant child'. Her country singer father Keith, 57, jumped to her defence, and told People Magazine he is 'very proud' of his teen daughter but wants to protect her. Kate Moss's half-sister Lottie has also declared she is 'sick of people blaming nepotism for why they aren't rich and famous or successful'. Lottie signed with Storm Management when she was just 14 years old and threw herself into modelling, but decided to quit photoshoots for OnlyFans in 2021. Amid a storm of nepo baby criticism in 2022, Lottie said: 'I'm so sick of people blaming nepotism for why they aren't rich and famous or successful - obviously it's not fair that people who come from famous families are getting a leg up because of that but guess what? 'Life isn't fair - if you put your mind to something you can accomplish anything! So instead of being negative about other people's success go and try and create your own!' And while it was always her ambition to follow in her parents Richard and Judy's footsteps and go into television, Chloe Madeley revealed she 'hates' being branded a nepo baby - and went as far as to describe it as a 'dirty word'. Speaking to Olivia Attwood on the latest episode of her podcast, So Wrong It's Right, Chloe said she finds it hard when people criticise her for being a child of nepotism. She said: 'Nepo baby is such a dirty word, and people don't realise how hard it is to hear that about yourself, when you're on the receiving end of it.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Forget stealth wealth and quiet luxury—now Gen Z nepo babies are bragging about their generational wealth on TikTok
In an era when billionaires are becoming increasingly flashy, so too are their children. Welcome to 'Holy Airball'. TikTok's latest trend has Gen Z nepo babies flaunting what their wealthy family do for a living—from Reese Witherspoon's daughter to an Airbnb mogul's kid. The days of stealth wealth and quiet luxury are well and truly over. Instead, the wealthiest kids on the block are proudly boasting about what their billionaire parents did to get rich. The latest TikTok videos all follow the same formula: A person shares a statement, the next slide is a misconception often leveled at them, and follow-up slides reveal the more impressive truth. Or rather, the 'holy airball' moment—a basketball term for when someone takes a shot and misses the basket. Take Reese Witherspoon's daughter, Ava. The 25-year-old just posted about the movie that made her mum famous. 'I told him my mum's a lawyer, and he said, 'Oh what firm does she work at?'' she wrote. Then she cut to a behind-the-scenes photo of her and her Oscar-winning mum on the set of Legally Blonde, where Witherspoon plays a lawyer and wrote 'Holy-fricking air ball'. The video's now received 2 million views and counting. The offspring of Hollywood legend Martin Scorsese and rapper Akon also jumped on the chance to shout out about their family legacies. And it's not just celebrity's kids that are getting in on the action: Kids of successful executives and founders are humble bragging their parents corporate gigs too, including the daughter of the My Super Sweet 16 show creator, an Airbnb mogul's daughter, an Anthropologie candle designer's kid, the heir to the A list drumming company, Zildjian and more. But there's a catch: Many TikTok accounts are capitalizing off their welll-known last names, but some aren't legitimately linked to the famous brands. The supposed 'heirs' of the Buc-ee's convenience store, Marriott and Folgers have come out of the woodwork. TikTok accounts for both Greyson Abercrombie and Gracie Abercrombie have separately claimed their parents own Abercrombie. However, whether or not they're related to the brand's brainchild, the founder, David Abercrombie, sold the company in 1907. An Abigail McDonald, similarly jokingly claimed her family owns McDonald's. Gen Zers bragging about their parents' wealth may be better off forging their own path to one day brag about. That's because despite expecting to come into an $84 trillion wealth transfer in the coming decades, actually, a rising number of ultra-wealthy retirees are opting to take their wealth to the grave. It's not that the generation has just forgotten about their young loved ones. Research from financial services company Northwestern Mutual shows that 60% do have a will in place—but their children and grandchildren are more likely to find funeral instructions in it than cash or the deed to their family home. In fact, over half of the boomers are explicitly planning not to leave an inheritance behind. And just one-fifth of baby boomers expect to leave anything behind. It comes as a growing cohort of people are trying to die with zero—essentially, enjoy all their wealth while they are alive and die with $0 in their bank account. Sting famously told his six kids he plans to spend his millions instead of leaving it to them. Celebrity chef Gordan Ramsay has echoed that he's 'definitely' not leaving his fortune to his six children; the most they will get out of him is a 25% deposit towards a flat—which is similar to many middle class Gen Z and millennial home owners today. Likewise, Laurene Powell Jobs, wife of the late Apple founder Steve Jobs, said the billions she inherited from her husband won't be passed on to the three children they shared. Jobs, estimated to have been worth approximately $7 billion when he died in 2011. His wife told the New York Times: 'If I live long enough, it ends with me.' This story was originally featured on
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Nepo babies humble brag about status and generational wealth in viral 'holy airball' TikTok trend - and guess who their famous parents really are?
Nepo babies have really been in the hot seat over the last year - and now rather than rebuffing the identity, they are bragging about it. In a new online trend, the offspring of the rich and famous are making their celebrity-heir status known thanks to the basketball term 'air ball' - a missed basket. Among the nepo babies jumping on the trend are Ava Phillippe, the daughter of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe, Francesca Scorsese and Jackson 5 star Randy Jackson's daughter Zoë. But perhaps winning the trend is Alianna Thiam - given that her dad Akon sings on the track being overlaid on the clips, Soul Survivor. The clips show the nepo babies turn the joke on you for making an 'airball' - a very wrong, and seriously underestimated, assumption about what their parents do for work. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Taking to TikTok, Senegalese-American singer Akon's daughter Alianna shared a picture of himself with the caption: 'Told him my dad was in the music industry.' In the next slide, Alianna could be seen taking a mirror selfie in a lavish apartment as she added a caption with her hypothetical date's response: 'He said "Oh like a manager?"' In a mic drop moment, Alianna's final slide is a sweet picture of her hugging her famous father. Holyfknairball was hashtagged to call out the date's conversational missed basket. Meanwhile Reese's daughter Ava shared a selfie writing: 'I told him my mom's a lawyer. ' The next snap showed Ava and her mum on the set of the iconic film Legally Blonde, with the hypothetical person's very incorrect response mistakenly assuming she means an actual lawyer. The caption on the clip reads 'He said "Oh what firm does she work at?",' and the third slide is the movie poster of Legally Blonde with 'air ball' written over the top. 'Her law degree may not be real... but she did go to Stanford for a bit,' Ava captioned the post. Next up was American Idol judge Randy Jackson's daughter Zoë who put her own spin on the trend by leaving it ambiguous as to what kind of judge he is. 'Her law degree may not be real... but she did go to Stanford for a bit,' Ava captioned the post 'I told him my dad was a judge,' she said in the first clip, writing in the second: 'He said "Cool! At which court"' She then added a snap of her dad on the talent show. 'It's gonna be a YES for me Dawg,' Zoë captioned her take. And Academy Award-winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese's daughter Francesca also got in on the action - saying she was 'told to do this trend'. 'I told him "My dad is a filmmaker". He said "Oh nice like for commercials or something?",' before dropping a photo of the iconic director. The term nepo baby was coined by a Twitter user in 2022 who was shocked to learn their favourite actress had famous parents. It sparked a fierce debate on whether the children of the rich and famous have been getting an unfair leg up. But the nepo baby path to fame doesn't always run smooth, with many forced to try their hand at several showbiz careers until they find one that sticks. In stark contrast to the air ball trend, some celebrity offspring have taken issue with being branded as such, with TV presenting duo Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan's daughter Chloe going as far as to call the phrase a 'dirty word'. Phoenix Brown, the daughter of Spice Girl Mel B, also recently slammed the 'febrile and poisonous' debate around nepo babies' success in the entertainment industry. She made headlines when she hosted an art exhibition only for it to be a ruse as part of a documentary on nepo babies. 'It's gonna be a YES for me Dawg,' Zoë captioned her take Daughter of Spice Girl Mel B, Phoenix Brown, 25, is fronting Channel 4 documentary Born in the Limelight - Nepo Babies: Untold, which first aired in October, and returns to screens again next Thursday. In the documentary Phoenix pretends to reinvent herself as an artist, using her mother's name to stage an exhibition. She sells a painting for £2,000 - but an experts admits that without her famous name it would only be worth £30. But despite admitting that having Mel B as her mum has 'opened doors', Phoenix warns that the levels of 'hate' for nepo babies has never been so high following public obsession with the concept. Meanwhile Brooklyn Beckham's rise to nepo baby success comes after years of being the butt off the joke as he tried to launch various showbiz careers. The eldest child of David and Victoria Beckham has taken jibes in the past over his career changes, having first tried to follow in his footballer father's steps before becoming an aspiring photographer and trying his hand at becoming a chef. In 2017, the then-aspiring photographer released a book named What I See. While in 2020, he was also said to have signed to a major modelling agency, after receiving criticism over his photography. Speaking to Grazia in November, Brooklyn addressed the nepo baby criticism, as he said: 'Obviously I am one. But I couldn't help how I was born, at all.' While he understands why the public can feel irked by nepo babies, Brooklyn said he tries to ignore the 'rubbish' people say rather than dwell on it. He added: 'There's always going to be people that say rubbish. But as long as you do something that makes you happy and you're kind to people, that's all that matters. I'm always gonna get it, no matter what I do. And I'm fine with that. It makes me work harder, because I'm like, I'm gonna prove these people wrong.' When Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban 's daughter Sunday Rose, 16, made her catwalk debut for MiuMiu it didn't get quite the breathless reception the brand was expecting. The teenager's 'stomping' went viral on social media, with people critiquing her style and saying that she looked like a 'petulant child'. Her country singer father Keith, 57, jumped to her defence, and told People Magazine he is 'very proud' of his teen daughter but wants to protect her. Kate Moss's half-sister Lottie has also declared she is 'sick of people blaming nepotism for why they aren't rich and famous or successful'. Lottie signed with Storm Management when she was just 14 years old and threw herself into modelling, but decided to quit photoshoots for OnlyFans in 2021. Amid a storm of nepo baby criticism in 2022, Lottie said: 'I'm so sick of people blaming nepotism for why they aren't rich and famous or successful - obviously it's not fair that people who come from famous families are getting a leg up because of that but guess what? 'Life isn't fair - if you put your mind to something you can accomplish anything! So instead of being negative about other people's success go and try and create your own!' And while it was always her ambition to follow in her parents Richard and Judy's footsteps and go into television, Chloe Madeley revealed she 'hates' being branded a nepo baby - and went as far as to describe it as a 'dirty word'. Speaking to Olivia Attwood on the latest episode of her podcast, So Wrong It's Right, Chloe said she finds it hard when people criticise her for being a child of nepotism.
Fast Company
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fast Company
Nepo babies are using the ‘holy airball' TikTok trend to humble brag about their famous parents
The 'holy airball' trend that's all over your For You page is the latest way the internet is sharing humble brags. The videos, which have amassed millions of views on TikTok over the past few weeks, follow the same formula: a person shares a statement, the next slide is an assumption often leveled at them, followed by the more impressive truth. The videos are soundtracked to 'Soul Survivor' by Jeezy featuring Akon, and the final slide always references the now viral phrase holy airball —a basketball term for when someone takes a shot and misses the basket. Many have used the trend to brag about their achievements or joke about their unexpected personality traits or life circumstances. An example would be if someone assumes that your family owns a local store, but your family actually own a huge conglomerate. As the trend has gained momentum, the nepo babies have now entered the chat. 'Told him my mom's a lawyer,' Ava Phillipe wrote in a TikTok video posted on Monday. 'He said 'oh, what firm does she work at.' The following slides are of the Elle Woods from the 2001 film Legally Blonde. Reese Witherspoon, who played Woods, is Phillipe's mother. 'Told him my dad was in the music industry,' Alianna Thiam wrote in a TikTok posted last week. 'He said 'Oh like a manager?' Next are pictures of Thiam with her father, the singer Akon. 'Bro literally made the trend,' she added. Akon cowrote and is featured on the song that accompanies the trend. 'The fact this trend is to his song is iconic for you,' one person commented. 'Trend over, you win,' another added. A third example comes from the TikTok account of Francesca Scorsese. 'I told him 'my dad is a filmmaker,' she wrote. No prizes for guessing who appears on the following slide. 'Ok we can't top this y'all,' one comment read. Other TikTok accounts are capitalizing off their famous last names and confusing the internet in the process. There's Abigail McDonald, who wrote 'told him my family owns a food place' / he said, 'oh so like a small business.'' The next slide shows an image of the fast-food chain McDonald's. A TikTok account for Gracie Abercrombie posted, 'told him 'my family owns a clothing store.' The next slide is a photo of the popular clothing store Abercrombie & Fitch.
What's On
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- What's On
The Zero Gravity Season Finale is welcoming big names this weekend - What's On
Sponsored: Expect huge names like DJ Shane Codd and Hypaton… Dubai is slowly heating up (literally) but so is Zero Gravity this weekend with big names prepared to entertain you. This weekend finale is about to be a huge one as Dubai icon Zero Gravity celebrates its last huge weekend of the season in style and in true form it's a full weekend of bool and beach brunches. Dive into the weekend on Friday, May 23 with iconic Irish DJ Shane Codd, who says Zero Gravity is one of his favourite venues worldwide and we can see why. He never fails to fill the dancefloor with his beats including huge hit 'Get Out My Head'. If you don't know it, get to know it… The price of this is even better, for the Salut Brunch, it's Dhs199 for teachers and cabin crew, Dhs299 for ladies and Dhs349 for guys, this will get you all day pool and beach access plus unlimited food and drinks from 1pm to 5pm. If you want to stay for the legend that is Shane Codd, it's free entry for ladies, couples and mixed groups. Then on Saturday, May 24, Italian DJ Hypaton is coming and making his Dubai debut before he heads over to Ibiza to support the one and only David Guetta over the summer. DJ and producer, Hypaton is known for co-producing tracks with Guetta, including the remix of 'Be My Lover' by La Bouche and Akon's 'Beautiful Day'. On Saturday, pay Dhs349 for ladies and Dhs399 for guys for unlimited food and drinks from 1pm to 5pm, including pool and beach access too. Sunset Sessions from 5pm wuth Hypaton is free entry for ladies, couples and mixed groups. If you fancy a Sunday boogie then it's Dhs299 for ladies for the Raya Brunch, Dhs349 for guys and you'll get an extra hour of fun as it's from 12pm to 5pm. Sunset Sessions are from 5pm and again, it's free entry for ladies, couples and mixed groups. Use this weekend as one of your last huge outdoor parties as you soak up the sunshine at one of Dubai's most popular beach clubs. Don't worry though, Zero Gravity won't be closing for the summer, then cool pool will stay open throughout the season with the temperature dialled down so even in the heat, you can enjoy your summer days and then head inside to the air-conditioned restaurant for food and drinks. Get more info here. Tickets for all three days are available on See you there… > Sign up for FREE to get exclusive updates that you are interested in
