The topic of nepotism and celebrity in New York Magazine sparked a lot of conversation and controversy. On an episode of The View several weeks ago, the subject came about, and a conversation evolved around Sunny Hostin’s son, Gabriel, being admitted to Ivy League school, Harvard University.
According to Decider, people have speculated that Gabriel got into the school as a ‘nepo baby.’ His entrance was made possible because, according to rumors, his mother, Sunny, allegedly bought a building at Harvard.
Hostin has flat-out denied the accusations being made.
“Any parent is going to try to make sure that their children have a better life than they had,” the talk show host stated. “I know I tried very hard so that my children had a better life, and I was very surprised when people said, “Oh, Gabriel got into Harvard because Sunny bought a building.’
“Look, I’m from the Bronx projects. I don’t have money to buy buildings at Harvard, OK? So he earned that on his own, and yes, I would be upset if people took that away from him. But we taught him, we can open up a door for you, but you’ve gotta walk through, and you’ve gotta work hard, and you’ve gotta be there first and be there last, and work as hard as you can.”
Whoopi Goldberg agreed with the misunderstanding of how some people believe that children of celebrities and/or people with a privileged status have an advantage. But, she also stated that two things can be true at the same time.
She said, “Don’t assume that people didn’t work and bust their behind. ’Cause their parents might have said to them, ‘I’m not gonna help you. You need to get this done by yourself. … Ninety percent of the people I find are working their butts off because they just want to have a good life like their parents did.”