Hailey Bieber Steps Out in a “Nepo Baby” Shirt

Artists speak through paint and sculpture. Writers are heard through their words. And Hailey Bieber speaks her mind through cute outfits. The model and social media personality currently has one of the most watched wardrobes on the planet, and she knows it. So it’s no wonder she decided to address the recent “nepo baby” brouhaha through fashion. Although, her point may be up for debate.

Bieber stepped out in Los Angeles this afternoon in a cropped baby tee as white as a blank page—save the words “Nepo Baby” written on it in blank ink. She certainly meant for the shirt to be the star of the outfit. The rest of it is all expertly on trend, albeit in a very low-key way. She wore it with a pair of “dad”-fit jeans, chunky black shoes, and a simple black leather underarm bag. Still, her studded belt definitely stands out.

Baldwin, of course, is a descendant of one of modern Hollywood’s most storied families. Not only is her father Stephen Baldwin a famous actor, but so are her three uncles: Alec, Daniel, and William (common knowledge, of course, for people of a certain age, but worth pointing out for our younger readers). Less known is the fact that Bieber’s maternal grandfather is the Brazilian pianist and arranger Eumir Deodato. He’s worked with everyone from Frank Sinatra to Björk. There’s also the fact that she’s married to Justin Bieber.

Although the internet has long been entranced and critical of nepo babies (that is, famous people who also have famous parents), the topic went into overdrive late last year thanks to a New York magazine cover package about the phenomenon. Hollywood has been left stumbling to reply, with a mix of some rather self-aware responses to some baffling ones (though, the best move likely would have been to ignore it completely).

Bieber hadn’t responded to that article yet, but she has broached the topic of nepotism before. She actually asked Gwyneth Paltrow about the topic on her YouTube channel. Paltrow admitted that it’s unfair people with powerful parents can so easily get their foot in the door, but added that she thinks they have to work twice as hard because of the pressure associated with their last name. Bieber didn’t offer much in the way of her own perspective, but seemed to agree with Paltrow’s take.

Bieber’s success itself does, actually, illustrate that point. She’s one of 17 known children of a Baldwin Brother (a less famous Baldwin sister, Elizabeth, also has six children, so there are 23 cousins on the Baldwin side alone). And yet, out of all of them, Hailey is the most famous—plus, one of only two have warranted their own Wikipedia page. The other is her cousin Ireland, daughter of Alec, who took to TikTok last month to address the topic. “In anything that I pursue and anything that I do in my life, people are always going to say I have what I have because of my parents, which is true,” Ireland Baldwin said. “I wouldn’t be where I am, I wouldn’t have gotten where I am and been able to do what I can do if it weren’t for my parents. I think where you go wrong is denying that.”

Well, if nothing else, you can’t accuse Hailey of denying it. It’s written right there on her shirt.