By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-07 10:41:58 | Updated at 2025-01-08 11:41:47
1 day ago
Mel B's daughter has claimed nepo babies have 'never faced so much hate' as she opened up about the struggles of having famous parents.
Phoenix Chi Gulzar, 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.
The debate around 'nepo (nepotism) babies' has taken the world by storm in recent years with many in the spotlight thought to have been given a leg-up by their famous parents.
New York magazine even proclaimed that 2022 had been the 'year of the nepo baby', with examples including Lily-Rose Depp, Kaia Gerber and Dakota Johnson.
In the documentary, Phoenix warns that the levels of 'hate' for nepo babies has never been so high following public obsession with the concept.
She also questions why society has accepted the 'ultimate nepo baby' Prince William, while celebrity equivalents, such as Brooklyn Beckham, come under fire.
Speaking to Radio Times amid the documentary's release, she said: 'I can't deny that having Mel B as my mum has opened a few doors.
'However, there's been rising anger in recent years with what appears to be more and more children of famous people making it in the entertainment industries.
Mel B's daughter Phoenix Chi Gulzar (pictured) says nepo babies have 'never faced so much hate'
'Even when nepo babies are great at their job, they face a backlash fuelled by misunderstanding, jealousy or resentment. The issue has never before sparked so much hate or become so febrile and poisonous.'
In the documentary, she asks: 'I wonder why society has accepted the ultimate nepo baby in the Royal family but not in the world of celebs?'
'Nepotism is everywhere, no matter what area you work in. It's just that the entertainment industry is very visible.
'It's clear there is a problem … but we will get nowhere by targeting nepo babies as individuals. We must explore the bigger societal issues.'
She argued that young aristocrats who receive money from trust funds are no different to celebrities' children - but they manage to avoid scrutiny.
She added: 'We compared the most famous aristo nepo Prince William and the most iconic celeb nepo, Brooklyn Beckham.'
Phoenix and the team found 51 per cent of comments about Beckham were negative compared to just 35 per cent of Prince William's.
In addition, the word 'nepotism' was referenced directly in two per cent of Brooklyn's comments - 20 times more than in the Prince of Wales's.
Phoenix Brown, 25, the elder daughter of Scary Spice, 49, and Jimmy Gulzar, 49, has opened up about her experience of being born into the spotlight
Also appearing in the documentary is Jack Keating , the son of Boyzone singer Ronan, who appeared on Love Island in 2022
However she does admit having a Spice Girl as her mother 'opened doors' for her career as a DJ and presenter. Mel B pictured in the documentary
Phoenix compared 'ultimate nepo baby' Prince William with celebrity nepo baby Brooklyn Beckham
In the documentary, Phoenix warns that the levels of 'hate' for nepo babies has never been so high following public obsession with the concept
Prince William, 42, worked for two years as a pilot for the East Anglican Air Ambulance and served in the RAF, before stepping down to focus on royal duties full time.
Meanwhile Brooklyn has come under fire for his attempts to launch various careers outside the influence of his footballer father David, 49, and Spice Girl singer mother Victoria, 50.
The 25-year-old previously failed to establish a career in football and photography, which saw him release 2017 book What I See.
More recently as an aspiring chef he's launched a new range of hot sauce under his brand Cloud23.
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.
She admitted that she 'can't deny that having Mel B as my mum has opened a few doors' in her work as a DJ and presenter.
Also appearing in the documentary is Jack Keating, the son of Boyzone singer Ronan, who appeared on Love Island in 2022.
The daughter of Spice Girl Mel B has said nepo babies need to start acknowledging that they're handed opportunities because of who their parents are
He revealed that his father's connection had given him his job on a Dublin radio station, and opened up about the criticism he'd received for appearing on the ITV dating show - which viewers put down to his famous father.
Young DJ Phoenix, who is close friends with the Beckham children, shared that for her new documentary, she reached out to 90 kids who have celebrities as parents, but only one of them agreed to speak to her on camera.
Earlier in September Miss Brown landed a TV deal after a successful stint on Gogglebox with her mother.
In October she starred in her own Channel 4 documentary looking into nepotism success - Born in the Limelight Nepo Babies: UNTOLD.
The term 'Nepo-Baby' was coined by a Twitter user in 2022 who was shocked to learn their favourite actress had famous parents, a fierce debate was sparked on whether the offspring of the rich and famous have been getting an unfair leg up.
Miss Brown is Mel B's firstborn, conceived during her short-lived marriage to Dutch back-up dancer Jimmy Gulzar.
The young DJ who is close friends with the Beckham children, shared that for her new documentary, she reached out to 90 kids who have celebrities as parents, but only one of them agreed to speak to her on camera
Phoenix is Mel's firstborn from her short-lived marriage to Dutch back-up dancer Jimmy Gulzar, the singer has a further daughter Angel Murphy Brown, 17, with Eddie Murphy and Madison Brown Belafonte, 11, with her ex-husband Stephen Belafonte
Last year Phoenix flew the nest last year to move in with her boyfriend, but she recently revealed that the real reason she moved out was to avoid seeing her famous mum in her underwear.
During an appearance on Romesh Ranganathan's TV show Parents Evening, talk turned to underwear as fellow guest on the show Richard Madeley admitted he no longer wears boxers because he finds them too uncomfortable.
Richard said: 'In my early thirties, I found boxers, budgie smugglers and all of that, just chafe - so I got rid of them, and I've never looked back.'
Mel B agreed with the presenter, as she said: 'In general, I like things to feel free.'
Her embarrassed daughter Phoenix then confirmed: 'She does, and that's why I moved out.'
It comes after Phoenix revealed how she was bullied growing up and found life as the daughter of a Spice Girl harder than people might think.
She explained that despite having a famous mother, she was not popular in school and struggled to make friends - but has since been able to develop a successful career thanks to her status as Mel's daughter.
The aspiring artist told The Mirror in an exclusive interview that having celebrity parents made her time at school difficult because she couldn't bring Mel B to parents evenings or events.
She added that at one point, the bullying got so bad a 'We hate Phoenix club' was set up at her school in the US.
Despite the difficult time at school, Phoenix admitted that it got easier as she got older and she developed a thicker skin but believes she was also targeted because of her race.
Born in the Limelight - Nepo Babies: Untold airs Thursday January 16 on Channel 4.
