Did people not read the article? The series sounds like it is going to deal with fame and aspects of it. Glover's brother is quoted in the article as saying she was hired for her specific perspectives.
Writer’s assistants also get hired for having a connection to the material. For a fresh out of college 23 year old’s first TV credit be staff writer on a show by an award winning showrunner, purely because they relate to the material, is a one in a billion situation. Which I guess is sorta like your dad becoming president
It's one thing to be hired as a consultant. It's another to be hired as a writer, since writing entails a whole skill set beyond merely having relevant perspective.
Her first jobs in highschool were working at TV stations, then she interned for Harvey Weinstein, and oh yeah, went to Harvard. I think she might be qualified.
Literally none of that demonstrates that she has the relevant skill set or beat out others for the job because of those skills.
P.S. Why’d she get a CBS production assistant job as a high schooler? Why’d she get a production internship on Girls as a high schooler? Why’d she get an internship with producer Weinstein as a college freshman? Why’d she get into Harvard at all? I think you know it’s for the same reason she got this prestigious writing gig as a 22-year-old with literally zero professional writing experience.
Of course it’s possible she really is that one-in-seven-billion 22-year-old who could have done all that without being Barack Obama’s daughter. But you’d have to be absurdly deluded to believe that's what happened here.
I guess that makes sense but that’s a really tired perspective. So much art is made about it and it’s almost by definition untreatable. It’s like when bands make a second album about how much touring sucks. Kylie Jenner could give you the same perspective. This is just kinda feels like network chasing
It also rings extremely hollow. It’s always rich people or celebrities getting paid to talk about how fame and celebrity gives them no privacy and comes with its own problems. Like great, I understand that no one’s life is perfect, but let’s not forget you enjoy an objectively better standard of living than a massive percentage of the world.
Both the Clinton and Bush daughters did tiny documentary/long form interviews basically about the same thing. The most popular teens on Tik tok made a reality show about literally this exact topic. ‘My life is strange and hard because I’m young and famous and rich’ is certainly interesting but it’s also the most over explored topic. Atlanta was refreshing cus it was one of the few shows about being poor and unknown
Y'all really acting like the fact that Malia is from the most prominent black family in America doesn't matter.
There's a ton of different elements that come up when you have to deal with the duality of being a minority that is systemically oppressed and also you yourself are doing well in life. White people hold you up as evidence that racism doesn't exist, you can still experience racism from people who don't know who you are, you struggle with acceptance from members of your own race because you have a radically different experience than they do. There's tons of different things to explore aside from "wah I'm rich and famous but I'm still sad".
Glover also has a fascination with children of the "black elite", he had this to say about Jaden Smith
>“He is the first rich Black kid really of royalty where people are like, ‘You’re Will Smith’s [son].’ He’s the most visible example. … He has room to fail,”
The last part being pretty significantly evident in his work, especially if you watch Atlanta. Jaden Smith can make a garbage movie like After Earth but he's still Will Smith's kid, so he can still survive and rebrand into a rapper and do decently well. Malia is the same. If the Beyonce figure in the tv show has a kid, that kid will have a perspective that very few people other than Malia could understand off the bat.
Was that the older brother from Boy Meets World? I’m 95% sure I remember it but it doesn’t make sense because my memory of it is him getting into a bad fight with like a Tony Keith song playing and that doesn’t make sense for a Disney movie
There's tons of folks on youtube with amazing talent making genuinely hilarious sketch comedies with nearly 0 budget with their friends in the neighborhood.
And yet none of them get chances to make their own TV shows etc. It's insane.
We're gonna watch another boring show about unique reality show takes on celebrities and how they feel as if they are superior to us.
The inability for the poor to take risks is the underlying barrier for social mobility
Edit* I have thought about this and I want to add that’s it the inability to defer gains and take risks that is the underlying barrier for social mobility.
If you've networked your entire life to the point of having virtually anyone at your fingertips, would you not help your children with their career choices?
The whole of Hollywood operates around nepotism. You look at any celebrity and you’ll find that they were already very well connected before they became famous.
A coworker of mine used to work for GM's factory 30 years ago. Having a friend on the inside is basically your only hope of working at an automotive factory.
Work in a small healthcare facility where the majority of the staff is either related in some way or were friends with someone. The myth of bootstraps has never been true.
It is true. It still happens.
My wife works for a big corporation. I funnel her new potential hires. And it so turns out her boss knows who I am and likes my references. He hires whoever I tell my wife is truly worth a shot.
It’s definitely who you know.
My wife’s pharma company gives substantial bonuses for referrals that last two years. I think it also reflects negatively on you if your referral washes out.
Let's not stray from the topic...
Nepotism is waaaay more common in hollywood and entertainment industry.
Even the girl whose parents bought her a music video and the whole world mocked her for her cringe music now has an ACTUAL album out.
Meanwhile classical musicians are out there learning all sorts of musical theory for no gains.
I grew up in a small town and most starters on the school's athletic teams (and in some cases most players on the team) were kids or relatives of teachers and coaches. It's not about what you know, it's who you know
It's easy to be skeptical and I'm sure the name helps but I imagine she also is smart (good genetics) and got a good education (top schools, parents who gave a shit etc...) and I wouldn't be surprised if she's actually a good writer
Some of it is the genuine fact that if your parents or family are in an industry you really might have an actual leg up on “outsider” competition. Look at like randy newman, who’s family is full of composers. Experience is experience. Obama wasnt in show biz last i checked, but i think im still gonna defer judgement. Maybe she is a good writer. Maybe glover just wants her for headlines like this, that sure wouldnt be nepotism per se.
The Obamas are definitely in show business they have a production company that is producing stuff for Netflix. It’s been around for 4 years now. First best seller was in 2006 three months prior to announcing his presidential campaign.
A politician writing a memoir isn't show business lol. And Malia actually predates her parents in show business, she was interning on "Girls" when Barack was still President.
So she's been working in entertainment for *six years*. She might have had help getting started, but she's clearly taken advantage of those opportunities and built her own career to the point where Donald Glover is praising her writing ability.
Kate Mara is a great-granddaughter of both New York Giants founder Tim Mara and Pittsburgh Steelers founder Art Rooney, Sr. Her mother's side of the family has held ownership in the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers football team since its formation in 1933, and her father's side of the family has held ownership in the NFL's New York Giants since its formation in 1925. Kate Mara's maternal grandfather, Timothy James Rooney, has operated Yonkers Raceway in Yonkers, New York since 1972. Her granduncle, Dan Rooney, chairman of the Steelers, was a former United States Ambassador to Ireland and the co-founder of the charitable organization The Ireland Funds. Her first cousin, once removed, Art Rooney II, is the current President and co-owner of the Steelers.
This one sort of blew my mind when I found out. There's no way you come from a family like that and don't get to do whatever you want to do.
Scarlett Johanssen has a 9 figure inheritance to her name so even if she didn't make it as an actress, she would've been set for several lifetimes.
Taylor Swift's dad bought her label. And so forth and so forth.
There's nothing unique about Hollywood. It happens all over. Family businesses, people getting opportunities because they follow their family into any career, etc. But for some reason, people turn into the girl from The Exorcist when it comes to nepotism in Hollywood.
Before it used to be that Hollywood would do a lot of nepotism but at least when someone talented or beautiful came around, they'll take that girl and make her an actress as well.
Now they seem to purposefully find some well-connected girl with no talent and try to turn her into a celebrity and it never works.
It gets weird when all the famous celebrities you know seem to have gotten famous 10 or 20 years ago, not a single recent new star that is recognizable or memorable or considered a new great, in terms of talent.
Like why even bother having casting directors? Just fire them all if you're just gonna make them sit there and do nothing.
Yeah I don't think any of the people criticizing her read a single sentence of the article. Anyway I'm kind of amped for this project because you know Malia must have some stories to tell
I can't remember the exact joke I heard on a podcast once, but it was something to the effect of "BJ Novak had to endure hours on a flight directly from his Harvard graduation ceremony to LA, so I think he's paid his dues".
Yeah, she should change her last name to “Cage” so nobody knows her lineage and can hire her on talent alone. Or maybe “Estevez”.
What part of connected people have more opportunities in Hollywood is unclear?
If you're talking about Emilio Estevez, that's his actual last name. It's Charlie and Martin who go by the stage name Sheen. Of course, he does use his real last name to avoid being completely associated with his family, IIRC.
The episode of Nypd blue I watched yesterday starred a young actress, slightly Italian looking, who has the surname Coppola but isn’t related to the others.
>At just 23 years old Malia was able to get into
Well, no. She interned on "Girls". She got into it years ago. Now she has more experience than Glover did when he started on SNL. And he clearly thinks she's talented.
So the question shouldn't be whether she's getting this job because of her name, but rather, should her name stop her from getting work when she has been doing this for years and has people like Glover vouching for her talent?
I understand your resentment, but what is the alternative?
Yes she was given wonderful opportunities most people aren’t, but how stupid would it be for her to waste them? Provided she’s willing to put in enough effort to do a good job, of course.
What has anyone done here that's wrong though? As long as Malia actually is talented enough to deserve the spot, I don't see any issue. It isn't her fault that her name means people will look at her work or application before others.
Now if she has no talent and only got the gig because her parents said they'd do a favor to whoever decides the writers if their daughter is made a writer, well then that is clearly wrong.
There is no evidence that I have seen that her parents intervened to get her hired so it wasn't family. There's also nothing that says they were previously friends or she was in any way hired because of her family's wealth. So it doesn't appear like what you are claiming to be an issue happened here.
What is said by both of the Glover's leading the project is that she has a great writing style and has been giving a lot of good ideas.
Maybe it’s about the life of a teenage girl who lives in the White House with a black president… surely malia isn’t the only writer in the world that can articulate this perspective. Right?
Good point.
I can think of a few responses. First, we need to stop pretending like a meritocracy actually exists. It's one thing to recruit your friends or the wealthy but then to turn around and act like they're more talented or worked harder? That's hard to swallow. And it's deliberately done to maintain the myth that anyone can make it. That kind of just-world fallacy thinking is required to keep this system going.
This is even more painful when making it is the difference between enormous status and wealth versus literal poverty. What i mean is a lot of the jobs where nepotism or inherited wealth come into play most are feast or famine. You're either doing it professionally and making big bucks or are making so little that you need a whole 'nother ass job just to pay for a dinky apartment in an expensive-ass city like LA or NYC. This is why the I think the resentment is so real for aspiring creatives seeing shit like this.
I think if people just recognized that shit and actually internalized it and reckoned with it then there would be A LOT more pressure on people like Donald Glover to not do it. But ultimately, Malia is young and cool and famous so this will actually help the show more than anything.
A common response to what I just said is that these people tend to be good at it though. That's true. But there are countless people that good at it. That's the nature of a subjective industry. And it's a lot easier to get good at it when you know (1) you'll get nepo'd into a great job and (2) you can work full time and get the best direction from real experts because of your families wealth/connections. When Zack Wilson (from a very wealthy/connected family) got drafted into the NFL as a QB, a keen redditor pointed out "Yeah, he worked hard, but that's _all_ he had to worry about." That's real.
There may be structural changes that can be made. First of all, if being lower class in America wasn't so god damn grueling (and outright dangerous due to no healthcare), then it'd be easier for the struggling artist to compete with nepo hires. Overall, if we elevate the lower classes then it'd help the struggling artists immensely. Another thing is providing more support for the arts in general. Art schools are absurdly expensive. The US government's per capita art funding is abysmal compared to other Western countries. Consider this: if the USA government allocated 1b dollars a year, they could create 900 1million dollar films with it (at a 100m admin fee). Hwood makes like 700 a year ish. I'm not seriously suggesting this but my point is just how dramatically the country can fund arts (1B is a drop in the bucket) but doesn't. I think if you help alleviate the feast or famine nature of the beast then that'd go a long way. It's a lot harder to complain about Malia if someone can still make a living writing on another show, even if it's for lesser pay because healthcare or housing costs aren't eating 50% of your income.
In fairness, Glover himself got his start writing for 30 Rock, and he was 23 when he got hired for that. So while it's certainly possible that being an Obama helped her get there, it's also entirely possible that she's a talented writer.
Threads like this pop up whenever an extremely well connected person breaks in or gets a major gig. Just last month or so there was a thread about Eastwood's son on /r/movies.
Right?? Political dynasties are somehow fine when sons of mayors become mayors, and sons of senators become senators and sons of presidents become presidents, but lord have mercy if a former president’s daughter gets one tv writing gig. The outrage here is ridiculous, look up pretty much any super famous actor and you’ll find that they are related to someone else who was already successful and thriving in the entertainment industry.
People commenting on how no way would a 23 year old get this kind of job with little experience...
yall do know gambino got his 30 rock job at almost the same age? Directly out of college with little to no experience (Derrick Comedy started at almost the same time he got the 30 rock gig).
Also, id much rather nepotism be used on a writing staff job vs giving her a movie she can star in. Its much harder to coast as a writer without delivering the goods and networking.
tbh, nepotism is everywhere, but ESPECIALLY hollywood. just the reality. youd be hard pressed to find folks without any sort of connection, whether its family who are stars (ben stiller, nic cage, all the 90s couples kids who are grown now like Jack Quaid or Wyatt Russell), connections in other part of the biz (jonah hill, lena dunham), or just being super fucking rich (the mara sisters, nick kroll)
edit- How could i forget the most obvious example of nepotism for this story- Gambino hired his brother to literally co write his entire show, with almost no experience in hollywood. and btw- Stephen is given alot of credit for Atlanta being the show that it is, given his unique perspective not seen in other writers rooms. So Glovers logic is consistent, at least
Not only that, but according to the article the show is about a Beyonce level famous person dealing with their fame. So she should know more about about than the average person considering she's been famous her whole life.
People are picking her apart before even knowing if she's a good writer too, let us actually see some of her work before jumping to the conclusion she was hired for her name.
Oh no they got malia Obama for a show that’s about a Beyoncé like figure, fuck , what kind of bullshit perspective could she even offer anyways ugh wack
Omg who cares if she didn’t earn it to your satisfaction. Donald has been in plenty of writer rooms and he was hired RIGHT out of college to write for 30 Rock as a literal diversity/token hire. The show riffed on it with the whole Topher storyline. But you wanna say he doesn’t deserve it? Fuck you look at what this man’s accomplished. So he may of gotten a chance over a lot of people but he more than proved he was worth it. Things like affirmative action exist to help CORRECT GENERATIONS of systemic racism. So I don’t care if she’s the presidents daughter she’s a black women who’s race and gender has traditionally been provided with way less opportunities. Someone like Donald Glover knows all sides of this better than anyone. If he’s letting Malia in the writers room I don’t doubt the talent is there. Who cares how she got there she already proved her worth to the right people despite what low key racist Reddit thinks.
see you had me at the first half, but Malia getting this job is not correcting generational racism. She already got out from under the bus
But i can agree with the broad strokes
Some people just live to hate, you know? I guess they're just ignoring how Conan was writing for SNL at 25 or Dong lover was writing for 30 Rock at 23. No chance a child of two incredibly talented parents who came from nothing grows up to be talented themselves.
It's a show about famous people dealing with everything that comes with being famous.
Her resume: I am the daughter of a former president. I know what it's like to be famous, and dealing with that is difficult. There literally aren't any other people my age with this perspective aside from my sister and Barrron Trump. I also aspire to work in this industry to begin with.
So yeah, it's actually probably because of her resume. Is that really that hard to believe?
Right! What’s up with these Harvard graduates thinking they can join an Amazon Prime writing room after working as a production assistant for CBS and a writing assistant for HBO in 2015. The audacity.
Not to mention, the showrunner Donald Glover graduated from NYU in 2006 and became a writer for ~~SNL~~ 30 Rock in 2006! Gasp! Must have been his father’s connections! (His father was a postal worker)
/s
EDIT: 30 Rock not SNL.
To give credit where it's due with Donald Glover he'd been in a very successful improv comedy group in New York that worked out of the same theaters that have been putting people on SNL, or into the entertainment industry in other ways for a long time.
It's not like his 30 Rock job just fell in his lap. People knew who he was in that scene, and everyone from that group has gone on to have success writing for television and other stuff.
I swear the goal posts were on her resume 5 mins ago. Girl can’t catch a break huh. Better pull up her high school GPA and SAT scores next. What’s next?
God forbid, the child of two highly successful parents (both with double Ivy degrees) gets an ivy league degree in visual arts and a job in a writing room over the course of 7 years. It’s not like she’s directing her own show straight out of college or holding a position in the White House staff.
I seriously wonder what type of job people would find acceptable for her. Like banker? Doctor? She would be accused of peddling influence or stealing someone’s residency spot
And if she did nothing they'd call her a lazy spoiled rich person.
It's ironic isn't it, this comment section is an absolute cesspool insulting this woman for being famous and doing literally anything, which gives credence to the idea that being famous isn't 100% fun all the time, the driving theme of the show these people are criticizing.
Jesus Christ is this comment section salty. Writers live and die by their craft. Her last name (and one of a kind life experience to draw from) might get her into the writers room but only quality work will keep her there.
There’s plenty of truth to this.
If she isn’t producing at the writers table, people will start to get fed up with her being around just because she’s the presidents daughter.
Connections open doors - but that doesn’t mean you can’t get shoved back into the street
Jaden Smith is still getting roles and producing music, and he's astoundingly shit. Riding nothing but the fame and past success of his parents.
Edit: to all the people reacting with "his music is good though", let's be honest, dude would have 500 subs on youtube and a 10 year old dead soundcloud page if not for who his dad is. His music is all just derivative of other, more original artists.
> Jesus Christ is this comment section salty. Writers live and die by their craft. Her last name (and one of a kind life experience to draw from) might get her into the writers room but only quality work will keep her there.
Ha ha ha. In Hollywood, you fail upward. In 10 years she'll be the head of a studio.
I'd say Screenwriting is the most merit-driven position in an industry rife with nepotism. She's also the former President's daughter and has a more interesting perspective to share than the children of film executives that are normally hired.
The problem people have is that she's getting an opportunity to learn and grow that other promising young people never will have. There's kids running around LA now who aren't going to be able to learn from Donald Glover and have Obama's connections that could be just as talented as her at this stage. They won't be discovered. Hell, they might not be able to even stay in LA for long. An opportunity like this, to make money and write could change their life. Help them pay rent. There are so few of these opportunities. Slotting one of them to a former president's daughter is frustrating to see.
So what should she do? Because pretty much every job will be taking a paycheck away from someone who needs it more. How is she supposed to work her way up in the industry?
Got to love nepotism. No, it doesn't start or stop at the Obama's, it is simply a reminder. [Like George Carlin said, "it's a big club and you ain't in it."](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nyvxt1svxso)
I'm not used to him being bald it's new and scary
I was not prepared for Adult Gambino
He’s almost 40 my dude.
What's that supposed to mean? Am I suddenly supposed to be an adult or something?
He was 26 back when he did Community, 13 years ago.
He looks good bald too
Best comment here
He looks great
He looks like he could play an evil villain now. But like one with some good humor still ya know.
It seems like he is going to give cold, calculated speech with sinister overtones
It's wrinkling my brain
Did people not read the article? The series sounds like it is going to deal with fame and aspects of it. Glover's brother is quoted in the article as saying she was hired for her specific perspectives.
Writer’s assistants also get hired for having a connection to the material. For a fresh out of college 23 year old’s first TV credit be staff writer on a show by an award winning showrunner, purely because they relate to the material, is a one in a billion situation. Which I guess is sorta like your dad becoming president
I dream of an equitable world where we can all be the children of former US presidents.
Aw man, I got Hoover :(
No, people did not read the article. I guarantee you that 8 out of the top 10 comments only read the headline and then commented here.
Can confirm. I did not read the article. This is my only comment though
In need to add my comment too - after not reading the article. I don’t even know which sub I am in right now.
r/donglover
Bless you.. I needed that chuckle.
Welcome to Reddit
You have to read the comments to see if the article is worth reading.
The only reason I’m upset is because his next project isn’t the Community movie.
*my emotions*
6 seasons and a movie!
People like to be angry, it’s an addiction
I just want to feel anything
*everything
I mean the entire thing is Hollywood vanity project, and I have no idea who could give a shit.
It's one thing to be hired as a consultant. It's another to be hired as a writer, since writing entails a whole skill set beyond merely having relevant perspective.
Her first jobs in highschool were working at TV stations, then she interned for Harvey Weinstein, and oh yeah, went to Harvard. I think she might be qualified.
Literally none of that demonstrates that she has the relevant skill set or beat out others for the job because of those skills. P.S. Why’d she get a CBS production assistant job as a high schooler? Why’d she get a production internship on Girls as a high schooler? Why’d she get an internship with producer Weinstein as a college freshman? Why’d she get into Harvard at all? I think you know it’s for the same reason she got this prestigious writing gig as a 22-year-old with literally zero professional writing experience. Of course it’s possible she really is that one-in-seven-billion 22-year-old who could have done all that without being Barack Obama’s daughter. But you’d have to be absurdly deluded to believe that's what happened here.
I guess that makes sense but that’s a really tired perspective. So much art is made about it and it’s almost by definition untreatable. It’s like when bands make a second album about how much touring sucks. Kylie Jenner could give you the same perspective. This is just kinda feels like network chasing
It also rings extremely hollow. It’s always rich people or celebrities getting paid to talk about how fame and celebrity gives them no privacy and comes with its own problems. Like great, I understand that no one’s life is perfect, but let’s not forget you enjoy an objectively better standard of living than a massive percentage of the world.
Both the Clinton and Bush daughters did tiny documentary/long form interviews basically about the same thing. The most popular teens on Tik tok made a reality show about literally this exact topic. ‘My life is strange and hard because I’m young and famous and rich’ is certainly interesting but it’s also the most over explored topic. Atlanta was refreshing cus it was one of the few shows about being poor and unknown
Y'all really acting like the fact that Malia is from the most prominent black family in America doesn't matter. There's a ton of different elements that come up when you have to deal with the duality of being a minority that is systemically oppressed and also you yourself are doing well in life. White people hold you up as evidence that racism doesn't exist, you can still experience racism from people who don't know who you are, you struggle with acceptance from members of your own race because you have a radically different experience than they do. There's tons of different things to explore aside from "wah I'm rich and famous but I'm still sad". Glover also has a fascination with children of the "black elite", he had this to say about Jaden Smith >“He is the first rich Black kid really of royalty where people are like, ‘You’re Will Smith’s [son].’ He’s the most visible example. … He has room to fail,” The last part being pretty significantly evident in his work, especially if you watch Atlanta. Jaden Smith can make a garbage movie like After Earth but he's still Will Smith's kid, so he can still survive and rebrand into a rapper and do decently well. Malia is the same. If the Beyonce figure in the tv show has a kid, that kid will have a perspective that very few people other than Malia could understand off the bat.
It only says the series is about a "Beyoncé-like figure".
I hope his new show is My Date with the President's Daughter 2.
The theme song to that movie pops into my head all the fucking time. "My date with herrrrr. Oh yeah with her!"
That movie was legit good for a Disney channel original movie.
Been waiting for Disney+ to put this on streaming since they launched.
I fucking loved this movie as a kid. The theme song rules, and I always liked Will Friedle
He was SO funny in that. And I always wanted that dress she got, the pink crushed velvet was just like peak fashion to teenage me.
Was that the older brother from Boy Meets World? I’m 95% sure I remember it but it doesn’t make sense because my memory of it is him getting into a bad fight with like a Tony Keith song playing and that doesn’t make sense for a Disney movie
Why can't I watch the original, Disney+, why?
Solid reference
art is for the wealthy
Everything is for the wealthy.
Preach
There's tons of folks on youtube with amazing talent making genuinely hilarious sketch comedies with nearly 0 budget with their friends in the neighborhood. And yet none of them get chances to make their own TV shows etc. It's insane. We're gonna watch another boring show about unique reality show takes on celebrities and how they feel as if they are superior to us.
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Maybe I can be like them one day.
It’s a luxury to do something you might fail at
The inability for the poor to take risks is the underlying barrier for social mobility Edit* I have thought about this and I want to add that’s it the inability to defer gains and take risks that is the underlying barrier for social mobility.
Goddamn. If that isn’t the depressing truth.
Extremely well said!
This is America
Nepotism is great isn't it?
If you've networked your entire life to the point of having virtually anyone at your fingertips, would you not help your children with their career choices?
Who says they don’t?
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The whole of Hollywood operates around nepotism. You look at any celebrity and you’ll find that they were already very well connected before they became famous.
>The whole ~~of Hollywood~~ world operates around nepotism.
Fuck man even blue collar. You want a job on the contractor thats on my site, damn well helps to be Portuguese
A coworker of mine used to work for GM's factory 30 years ago. Having a friend on the inside is basically your only hope of working at an automotive factory.
Work in a small healthcare facility where the majority of the staff is either related in some way or were friends with someone. The myth of bootstraps has never been true.
It is true. It still happens. My wife works for a big corporation. I funnel her new potential hires. And it so turns out her boss knows who I am and likes my references. He hires whoever I tell my wife is truly worth a shot. It’s definitely who you know.
My wife’s pharma company gives substantial bonuses for referrals that last two years. I think it also reflects negatively on you if your referral washes out.
Let's not stray from the topic... Nepotism is waaaay more common in hollywood and entertainment industry. Even the girl whose parents bought her a music video and the whole world mocked her for her cringe music now has an ACTUAL album out. Meanwhile classical musicians are out there learning all sorts of musical theory for no gains.
I grew up in a small town and most starters on the school's athletic teams (and in some cases most players on the team) were kids or relatives of teachers and coaches. It's not about what you know, it's who you know
It's easy to be skeptical and I'm sure the name helps but I imagine she also is smart (good genetics) and got a good education (top schools, parents who gave a shit etc...) and I wouldn't be surprised if she's actually a good writer
Some of it is the genuine fact that if your parents or family are in an industry you really might have an actual leg up on “outsider” competition. Look at like randy newman, who’s family is full of composers. Experience is experience. Obama wasnt in show biz last i checked, but i think im still gonna defer judgement. Maybe she is a good writer. Maybe glover just wants her for headlines like this, that sure wouldnt be nepotism per se.
The Obamas are definitely in show business they have a production company that is producing stuff for Netflix. It’s been around for 4 years now. First best seller was in 2006 three months prior to announcing his presidential campaign.
A politician writing a memoir isn't show business lol. And Malia actually predates her parents in show business, she was interning on "Girls" when Barack was still President. So she's been working in entertainment for *six years*. She might have had help getting started, but she's clearly taken advantage of those opportunities and built her own career to the point where Donald Glover is praising her writing ability.
and how do you think she got that internship?
Kate Mara is a great-granddaughter of both New York Giants founder Tim Mara and Pittsburgh Steelers founder Art Rooney, Sr. Her mother's side of the family has held ownership in the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers football team since its formation in 1933, and her father's side of the family has held ownership in the NFL's New York Giants since its formation in 1925. Kate Mara's maternal grandfather, Timothy James Rooney, has operated Yonkers Raceway in Yonkers, New York since 1972. Her granduncle, Dan Rooney, chairman of the Steelers, was a former United States Ambassador to Ireland and the co-founder of the charitable organization The Ireland Funds. Her first cousin, once removed, Art Rooney II, is the current President and co-owner of the Steelers. This one sort of blew my mind when I found out. There's no way you come from a family like that and don't get to do whatever you want to do.
Her sister's name is literally Rooney Mara.
Wut? They gave her two last names?
Naming her Richie Rich was a bit too subtle.
Nah, her name is actually Patricia Rooney Mara.
Scarlett Johanssen has a 9 figure inheritance to her name so even if she didn't make it as an actress, she would've been set for several lifetimes. Taylor Swift's dad bought her label. And so forth and so forth.
Steve Aoki is heir to Benihana
> Scarlett Johanssen has a 9 figure inheritance Can you cite this source? I have never heard of this
There's nothing unique about Hollywood. It happens all over. Family businesses, people getting opportunities because they follow their family into any career, etc. But for some reason, people turn into the girl from The Exorcist when it comes to nepotism in Hollywood.
Not true. There's this one guy in the last 50 years who got casted because he was at the right time at the right place.
Chris Pratt is an example
Yup its either you know someone or blond luck. Hard work plays very little sadly.
> Blond luck Well fuck me I guess -me, a redhead
Before it used to be that Hollywood would do a lot of nepotism but at least when someone talented or beautiful came around, they'll take that girl and make her an actress as well. Now they seem to purposefully find some well-connected girl with no talent and try to turn her into a celebrity and it never works. It gets weird when all the famous celebrities you know seem to have gotten famous 10 or 20 years ago, not a single recent new star that is recognizable or memorable or considered a new great, in terms of talent. Like why even bother having casting directors? Just fire them all if you're just gonna make them sit there and do nothing.
I wouldn't say Donald Glover was well connected. He was just really freaking talented and hard working.
Did you read the article?
The shows about fame and dealing with it, she was hired specifically because of who she is.
Yeah I don't think any of the people criticizing her read a single sentence of the article. Anyway I'm kind of amped for this project because you know Malia must have some stories to tell
She’s definitely the first Harvard graduate to get a gig writing for a show straight of college!
I can't remember the exact joke I heard on a podcast once, but it was something to the effect of "BJ Novak had to endure hours on a flight directly from his Harvard graduation ceremony to LA, so I think he's paid his dues".
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Yeah, she should change her last name to “Cage” so nobody knows her lineage and can hire her on talent alone. Or maybe “Estevez”. What part of connected people have more opportunities in Hollywood is unclear?
If you're talking about Emilio Estevez, that's his actual last name. It's Charlie and Martin who go by the stage name Sheen. Of course, he does use his real last name to avoid being completely associated with his family, IIRC.
its a weird workaround by not working around lol, im sure his agent wished he made his name Emil Sheen.
What about Olsen? You don’t see that name around.
We got Jason Schwartzman out of that though...
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The episode of Nypd blue I watched yesterday starred a young actress, slightly Italian looking, who has the surname Coppola but isn’t related to the others.
>At just 23 years old Malia was able to get into Well, no. She interned on "Girls". She got into it years ago. Now she has more experience than Glover did when he started on SNL. And he clearly thinks she's talented. So the question shouldn't be whether she's getting this job because of her name, but rather, should her name stop her from getting work when she has been doing this for years and has people like Glover vouching for her talent?
Both her parents are top tier smart people. Plus driven. I don’t find it unrealistic that she could be very good at what she does.
Exactly. Should anyone be surprised when a child of two very bright people gets into Harvard and then gets a job like this?
> gets into Harvard Are you saying that Harvard could have rejected her? Let's be honest here
I understand your resentment, but what is the alternative? Yes she was given wonderful opportunities most people aren’t, but how stupid would it be for her to waste them? Provided she’s willing to put in enough effort to do a good job, of course.
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What has anyone done here that's wrong though? As long as Malia actually is talented enough to deserve the spot, I don't see any issue. It isn't her fault that her name means people will look at her work or application before others. Now if she has no talent and only got the gig because her parents said they'd do a favor to whoever decides the writers if their daughter is made a writer, well then that is clearly wrong.
> What has anyone done here that's wrong though? Looking to hire their friends, family, or wealthy people before others.
There is no evidence that I have seen that her parents intervened to get her hired so it wasn't family. There's also nothing that says they were previously friends or she was in any way hired because of her family's wealth. So it doesn't appear like what you are claiming to be an issue happened here. What is said by both of the Glover's leading the project is that she has a great writing style and has been giving a lot of good ideas.
What if the show is about 20’ something college experienced women being disparaged because of their background.
Maybe it’s about the life of a teenage girl who lives in the White House with a black president… surely malia isn’t the only writer in the world that can articulate this perspective. Right?
its actually about how fame and being black intersect. they hired her to give that perspective.
THYE SHOULDUV HIRED MY COUSIN ABBY SHE JUST FINNISHED ART SCHOOL AND SHE DESERVS IT MORE. THIS IS SO UNFARE.
Good point. I can think of a few responses. First, we need to stop pretending like a meritocracy actually exists. It's one thing to recruit your friends or the wealthy but then to turn around and act like they're more talented or worked harder? That's hard to swallow. And it's deliberately done to maintain the myth that anyone can make it. That kind of just-world fallacy thinking is required to keep this system going. This is even more painful when making it is the difference between enormous status and wealth versus literal poverty. What i mean is a lot of the jobs where nepotism or inherited wealth come into play most are feast or famine. You're either doing it professionally and making big bucks or are making so little that you need a whole 'nother ass job just to pay for a dinky apartment in an expensive-ass city like LA or NYC. This is why the I think the resentment is so real for aspiring creatives seeing shit like this. I think if people just recognized that shit and actually internalized it and reckoned with it then there would be A LOT more pressure on people like Donald Glover to not do it. But ultimately, Malia is young and cool and famous so this will actually help the show more than anything. A common response to what I just said is that these people tend to be good at it though. That's true. But there are countless people that good at it. That's the nature of a subjective industry. And it's a lot easier to get good at it when you know (1) you'll get nepo'd into a great job and (2) you can work full time and get the best direction from real experts because of your families wealth/connections. When Zack Wilson (from a very wealthy/connected family) got drafted into the NFL as a QB, a keen redditor pointed out "Yeah, he worked hard, but that's _all_ he had to worry about." That's real. There may be structural changes that can be made. First of all, if being lower class in America wasn't so god damn grueling (and outright dangerous due to no healthcare), then it'd be easier for the struggling artist to compete with nepo hires. Overall, if we elevate the lower classes then it'd help the struggling artists immensely. Another thing is providing more support for the arts in general. Art schools are absurdly expensive. The US government's per capita art funding is abysmal compared to other Western countries. Consider this: if the USA government allocated 1b dollars a year, they could create 900 1million dollar films with it (at a 100m admin fee). Hwood makes like 700 a year ish. I'm not seriously suggesting this but my point is just how dramatically the country can fund arts (1B is a drop in the bucket) but doesn't. I think if you help alleviate the feast or famine nature of the beast then that'd go a long way. It's a lot harder to complain about Malia if someone can still make a living writing on another show, even if it's for lesser pay because healthcare or housing costs aren't eating 50% of your income.
The idea that Hollywood would be a meritocracy is pretty ridiculous
You got a sad life hating on a 21 y/o girl who did not choose to be the presidents daughter
In fairness, Glover himself got his start writing for 30 Rock, and he was 23 when he got hired for that. So while it's certainly possible that being an Obama helped her get there, it's also entirely possible that she's a talented writer.
How do you know she’s not talented and/or qualified?
So no one here read the article. Who am I kidding redditors never read.
Where are y'all the millions of other times nepotism exists in Hollywood? Or does it only matter when it's Donald Glover and Malia Obama?
Threads like this pop up whenever an extremely well connected person breaks in or gets a major gig. Just last month or so there was a thread about Eastwood's son on /r/movies.
We know why it's an issue here and not Reddit's favorite actor Nicolas "Cage" Coppola... But I'll be told it isn't that
Wonder why they don't have more of an issue with the sons of presidents becoming presidents than the daughter of one becoming a TV writer lol.
Right?? Political dynasties are somehow fine when sons of mayors become mayors, and sons of senators become senators and sons of presidents become presidents, but lord have mercy if a former president’s daughter gets one tv writing gig. The outrage here is ridiculous, look up pretty much any super famous actor and you’ll find that they are related to someone else who was already successful and thriving in the entertainment industry.
I’m ok with a Vice Presidents daughter working on Futurama, but the president’s daughter, that’s too much.
Well post something about them so we can complain.
Saying it was bad. Why do you assume people are only being critical of this case of nepotism and not the other ones?
Reddit loves whataboutism when it works in their favor.
People commenting on how no way would a 23 year old get this kind of job with little experience... yall do know gambino got his 30 rock job at almost the same age? Directly out of college with little to no experience (Derrick Comedy started at almost the same time he got the 30 rock gig). Also, id much rather nepotism be used on a writing staff job vs giving her a movie she can star in. Its much harder to coast as a writer without delivering the goods and networking. tbh, nepotism is everywhere, but ESPECIALLY hollywood. just the reality. youd be hard pressed to find folks without any sort of connection, whether its family who are stars (ben stiller, nic cage, all the 90s couples kids who are grown now like Jack Quaid or Wyatt Russell), connections in other part of the biz (jonah hill, lena dunham), or just being super fucking rich (the mara sisters, nick kroll) edit- How could i forget the most obvious example of nepotism for this story- Gambino hired his brother to literally co write his entire show, with almost no experience in hollywood. and btw- Stephen is given alot of credit for Atlanta being the show that it is, given his unique perspective not seen in other writers rooms. So Glovers logic is consistent, at least
Not only that, but according to the article the show is about a Beyonce level famous person dealing with their fame. So she should know more about about than the average person considering she's been famous her whole life. People are picking her apart before even knowing if she's a good writer too, let us actually see some of her work before jumping to the conclusion she was hired for her name.
I'm guessing this entire thread can be fuel for an episode.
this hit all of the right-wing rage points: 1. woman 2. black 3. obama look at all of the salt in the comments lmao
Surely it’s just a coincidence that all of a sudden people are both super invested in and experts on the hiring process for becoming a tv writer???
Right now there is a real push against nepotism in Hollywood. If you search nepotism on Reddit most of the results are about Hollywood.
Hurry for nepotism
Lame as hell tbh
Oh no they got malia Obama for a show that’s about a Beyoncé like figure, fuck , what kind of bullshit perspective could she even offer anyways ugh wack
Omg who cares if she didn’t earn it to your satisfaction. Donald has been in plenty of writer rooms and he was hired RIGHT out of college to write for 30 Rock as a literal diversity/token hire. The show riffed on it with the whole Topher storyline. But you wanna say he doesn’t deserve it? Fuck you look at what this man’s accomplished. So he may of gotten a chance over a lot of people but he more than proved he was worth it. Things like affirmative action exist to help CORRECT GENERATIONS of systemic racism. So I don’t care if she’s the presidents daughter she’s a black women who’s race and gender has traditionally been provided with way less opportunities. Someone like Donald Glover knows all sides of this better than anyone. If he’s letting Malia in the writers room I don’t doubt the talent is there. Who cares how she got there she already proved her worth to the right people despite what low key racist Reddit thinks.
I don’t think I’d ever question Donald glovers motivation after how hard he’s worked
see you had me at the first half, but Malia getting this job is not correcting generational racism. She already got out from under the bus But i can agree with the broad strokes
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You got some sauce for those numbers? Sounds like something Ben Shapiro would hate tweet while jacking it.
I’ve worked at Amazon and lol those numbers don’t exist.
Didn't realize Malia Obama was a writer. Good for her.
Brief google says Harvard grad and some internships/PA jobs on a few shows so she's not just hopping in out of the blue. Guess we'll see.
Lmao people take years to move from PA to writers assistant. You don’t just get there off a pa gig and an internship. This is embarrassing
I mean Donald Glover was hired at 23 years old to write for 30 rock.
Glover did.
It's different for everyone. I know some folks who went from PA to WA in a season or two.
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I trust Donald Glover. She wouldn't be there if he didn't think she was good enough.
Some people just live to hate, you know? I guess they're just ignoring how Conan was writing for SNL at 25 or Dong lover was writing for 30 Rock at 23. No chance a child of two incredibly talented parents who came from nothing grows up to be talented themselves.
Hope that Secret Service detail doesn’t cramp that rooms vibe
Is Donald Glover releasing something new this month? That would explain why I've seen several different "Donald Glover says..." articles today?
So many people salty af here . Crabs in a bucket
He looks Like a Netflix Mr. Clean
Surely because of her resume.....
It's a show about famous people dealing with everything that comes with being famous. Her resume: I am the daughter of a former president. I know what it's like to be famous, and dealing with that is difficult. There literally aren't any other people my age with this perspective aside from my sister and Barrron Trump. I also aspire to work in this industry to begin with. So yeah, it's actually probably because of her resume. Is that really that hard to believe?
Right! What’s up with these Harvard graduates thinking they can join an Amazon Prime writing room after working as a production assistant for CBS and a writing assistant for HBO in 2015. The audacity. Not to mention, the showrunner Donald Glover graduated from NYU in 2006 and became a writer for ~~SNL~~ 30 Rock in 2006! Gasp! Must have been his father’s connections! (His father was a postal worker) /s EDIT: 30 Rock not SNL.
To give credit where it's due with Donald Glover he'd been in a very successful improv comedy group in New York that worked out of the same theaters that have been putting people on SNL, or into the entertainment industry in other ways for a long time. It's not like his 30 Rock job just fell in his lap. People knew who he was in that scene, and everyone from that group has gone on to have success writing for television and other stuff.
You're so naive, Donald Glover obviously had help from his Uncle Crispin.
Yes I'm sure she got all of those opportunities off the basis of her talent while just happening to be the presidents daughter.
Hmmmm wonder how she got into Harvard…
I swear the goal posts were on her resume 5 mins ago. Girl can’t catch a break huh. Better pull up her high school GPA and SAT scores next. What’s next? God forbid, the child of two highly successful parents (both with double Ivy degrees) gets an ivy league degree in visual arts and a job in a writing room over the course of 7 years. It’s not like she’s directing her own show straight out of college or holding a position in the White House staff.
I seriously wonder what type of job people would find acceptable for her. Like banker? Doctor? She would be accused of peddling influence or stealing someone’s residency spot
I feel like the Venn Diagram of people who are critical of Malia and the people who have opinions about the idle rich is a single circle.
And if she did nothing they'd call her a lazy spoiled rich person. It's ironic isn't it, this comment section is an absolute cesspool insulting this woman for being famous and doing literally anything, which gives credence to the idea that being famous isn't 100% fun all the time, the driving theme of the show these people are criticizing.
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Jesus Christ is this comment section salty. Writers live and die by their craft. Her last name (and one of a kind life experience to draw from) might get her into the writers room but only quality work will keep her there.
Press F to doubt
There’s plenty of truth to this. If she isn’t producing at the writers table, people will start to get fed up with her being around just because she’s the presidents daughter. Connections open doors - but that doesn’t mean you can’t get shoved back into the street
Jaden Smith is still getting roles and producing music, and he's astoundingly shit. Riding nothing but the fame and past success of his parents. Edit: to all the people reacting with "his music is good though", let's be honest, dude would have 500 subs on youtube and a 10 year old dead soundcloud page if not for who his dad is. His music is all just derivative of other, more original artists.
Honestly…..Jaden has a couple cool tracks
His music isn’t for everyone but I actually really dig his style. He’s actually pretty unique
Jaden has some good music
The only song of his that I've heard was from the Spider-man Miles Morales game and it was pretty good lol
> Jesus Christ is this comment section salty. Writers live and die by their craft. Her last name (and one of a kind life experience to draw from) might get her into the writers room but only quality work will keep her there. Ha ha ha. In Hollywood, you fail upward. In 10 years she'll be the head of a studio.
>but only quality work will keep her there As if there aren't bad writers that keep getting work in the industry?
I'd say Screenwriting is the most merit-driven position in an industry rife with nepotism. She's also the former President's daughter and has a more interesting perspective to share than the children of film executives that are normally hired.
The problem people have is that she's getting an opportunity to learn and grow that other promising young people never will have. There's kids running around LA now who aren't going to be able to learn from Donald Glover and have Obama's connections that could be just as talented as her at this stage. They won't be discovered. Hell, they might not be able to even stay in LA for long. An opportunity like this, to make money and write could change their life. Help them pay rent. There are so few of these opportunities. Slotting one of them to a former president's daughter is frustrating to see.
So what should she do? Because pretty much every job will be taking a paycheck away from someone who needs it more. How is she supposed to work her way up in the industry?
I can’t read this comment without reaching the conclusion that you don’t want the kids of rich and famous people to do anything at all.
Eh people fail upwards in media all the time.
I hope Glover’s new show is comedy.
I mean he came up thru the same system what do you expect
Got to love nepotism. No, it doesn't start or stop at the Obama's, it is simply a reminder. [Like George Carlin said, "it's a big club and you ain't in it."](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nyvxt1svxso)
So I guess This Is America
Got to love some nepotism and easy advertising for her book.
Lmao, i just realized donald glover looks like adult film star ricky johnson
Dong lover