O’Shea Jackson Jr. wears his “nepo baby” status like a “badge of honor.”
During an appearance on “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” the actor – who is the oldest son of rapper/actor Ice Cube – was asked to weigh in on the debate over the term, which refers to the children of celebrities who have succeeded in pursuing Hollywood careers.
Accordingly, O’Shea argued that he is very proud to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“I’m forever grateful for everything my dad had to do to get me the opportunities that I have. And if I were to run away from that or shy away from that in any way, in my eyes, that’s disrespectful to everything he had to go through,” he said. “He didn’t work as hard as he did for me to not accept and appreciate it. So, I wear it as a badge of honor.”
After calling Ice Cube his “hero,” O’Shea went on to insist that he feels pressured to prove himself as a serious actor every day.
“At the same time, the door can be open but you’ve gotta walk through. You know, a lot of people, they have an idea of what I’m going to be before I get to any set because of their idea of what my dad is,” the 31-year-old continued. “They think I’m coming to set entitled or I feel like I need to have a ‘posse’ of 15-20 people with me… you know… straight rap stuff. But I’m here to work. I pride myself on my professionalism.”
O’Shea is currently promoting his new movie, “Cocaine Bear.”
The feature opened in cinemas on Friday.