Brooklyn Peltz Beckham has spoken out amid the ongoing discussion about Hollywood nepotism.
Although conversations about industry nepotism are not exactly anything new, the debate blew up in 2022, when New York Magazine ran a feature dubbed The Year of The Nepo Baby.
Since then, a string of public figures who have benefited from their own connections within show business (dubbed “nepo babies” by many) have spoken out on the subject – the latest being Brooklyn, the eldest son of David and Victoria Beckham.
“I can’t help how I was born,” he told InStyle magazine, ahead of the launch of his new brand Cloud23.
“I couldn’t ask for better parents and I’m just trying to work my ass off and trying to make a name for myself. That’s all I can say, really.”
Throughout his time in the spotlight, Brooklyn has tried his hand at everything from football and photography to modelling. In recent years, he’s focussed on his love of cooking, which has garnered mixed results.
“I always wanted to go the football route,” he explained, noting that he “loved it so much” but “just didn’t have the right head for it”.
“When you’re growing up, especially with the dad that I had, everyone’s like, ‘Oh, the oldest son’s going to be a footballer.’ And I loved it. I really, really, really did, and I miss it so much,” he continued.
“I did football—that didn’t work out. Then I went into photography. I had a lot of fun with that for a few years. And then, what else did I do? I’ve always done a bit of modeling.
“[My parents] didn’t care what I did or what I wanted to do. But, they were just like, ‘As long as you’re nice, you’re humble, and you work hard and you put your head down, that’s the most important thing. You can do whatever you want and it’s whatever you choose to do—try and be the best at that’.”
On critics of his food credentials, Brooklyn said: “I’m so used to it. It makes me… I kind of like it, in a way, just because it makes me really want to prove to people…
“Until two years ago, I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. I think with all the rubbish I get, my mum’s just like, ‘Prove them wrong. Never respond to that rubbish, just prove them wrong’.”
Brooklyn previously hit back at his detractors in 2022, insisting: “I always wish them well, the haters. I’m just doing what I love doing, staying healthy, being happy, and that’s what it is.”
He added: “I don’t understand why people still think that I try and act like a professional, because I’m absolutely not.
“I’ve always said, this is the very beginning. I have a lot to learn. I’m probably never going to stop learning.”
Doubling down during a 2023 interview with Insider, he insisted: “I have more important things to worry about than people saying a little bit of rubbish about me. My message to them is to keep writing whatever they want to write. There are always going to be people out there who try and pull you down.
“I’m doing my thing and working my bum off. So they can keep writing what they want, but it’s not going to bother me — I’m just going to keep doing my thing.”