LA native details what it was like to grow up with ‘nepo babies’

Growing up with a classmate who later became famous is pretty cool and all, but what if you went to school and were literally surrounded by kids who were already famous — for just being famous?

That’s what one TikToker says she experienced while growing up in Los Angeles, in a graduating high school class that had multiple kids with celebrity parents.

According to Izza (@izzaroze), a pop singer, songwriter and producer who still lives in LA, she knew many so-called “nepo babies” in her youth.

“I went to school with them, I dated them, but that’s not what we called them back then,” she explains in her now-viral TikTok.

At the time, they were just known as “celebrity kids,” and based on Izza’s experience, they didn’t have quite as bad of a rep as they do now.

In fact, Izza claims that the more famous the kids’ parent was, the more “chill” they tended to be. On the other hand, she alleged that kids of B-list celebs who hadn’t quite reached that top tier of fame usually acted out because they felt like they had something more to prove.

“I think that’s why I learned from a young age that it doesn’t matter who your parents are or what connections you have,” she continues in the clip. “If you’re not a good person, I’m not gonna want to be friends with you.”

Izza also learned pretty young that no matter how much money and fame your parents may have, it doesn’t mean your life is necessarily easy. Looking back now, she alleges that none of the celebrity kids in her grade had parents who were still together, and being the byproduct of divorce seemed to take its toll on many of them.

“It’s really sad,” Izza reflects. Izza did not name any specific celebrities or kids in her TikTok.

That said, Izza didn’t always understand where this was coming from as a kid and would often view these celebrity bad kids as “jerks.” And in the cases where she actually dated some of these kids, she found them to be emotionally unavailable and detached.

As for all of the recent debate about “nepo babies” — particularly when it comes to jobs being handed to them — Izza has a slightly different take on it all.

“A lot of the kids I know, they’re not in the industry,” she explains. “Or, they might be in the industry, but they’re more low-key, like they’re not trying to be singers or actors or whatever. Many of them lack motivation because they already have money, and there’s like no reason to work hard because they’re pretty much set.”

And while there are some nepo babies she knows who do try and break into the entertainment space, she feels it’s often because the parent is the one pushing them to go down that path, rather than the child actually wanting it for themselves.

Once Izza’s TikTok went viral, a ton of people flooded the comments.

“Great point of view,” one person told her.

“This is so fascinating to hear,” said another.

Others actually shared similar stories from their own experience going to school with celebrity kids.

“I went to Campbell Hall in the 80s/90s,” one person shared. “Lots of celebs + kids of celebs. Olson twins, D Fanning went there etc. def a strange way to go grow up.”

“I dated one and he was really cool and always tried to be normal even had a normal job,” another person said, in defense of celebrity kids.

“I think the parents play a big role, some will act entitled and others will be down to earth,” someone else concluded.

But a lot of others simply begged Izza for more deets about the people she grew up around — and wanted her to name names.

Ultimately, the singer refused to reveal any specific names of kids she went to school with or dated, but she did make a follow-up video about LA private school stereotypes, which got a ton of views in its own right for being pretty spot-on.

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