Dakota Johnson has opened up about growing up with famous parents, revealing that she "struggled to buy groceries" after being financially cut off by her dad.
Earlier this week, the 34-year-old actress spoke about being a "nepo baby," which is a short term for nepotism and refers to celebrities whose parents have succeeded in the same careers.
Dakota is the daughter of father Don Johnson, who is famous for playing the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series Miami Vice, and mother Melanie Griffith, who starred in the movie Working Girl (1988), for which she received an Academy Award nomination for best actress.
In addition to this, the Fifty Shades of Grey actress' grandmother is actress Tippi Hedren, who appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s iconic horror movie The Birds, and her former stepfather is Antonio Banderas.
The Persuasion actress made her film debut at age ten with a small role in Crazy in Alabama with her mom, but she ended up getting her big acting break after starring in The Social Network back in 2010. Five years later, she landed the lead role of Anastasia Steele in the Fifty Shades Of Grey movie adaptation.
During a recent interview on the Today show to promote her new film, Madame Web, Dakota revealed that she did not have a financial safety net after she decided to pursue acting instead of going to college.
"He cut me off," Dakota said about her dad. "It was difficult, but I figured it out. He said to everybody - by 'everybody,' I mean all of my siblings... he calls it the 'payroll.' It’s an allowance. He said if you go to college, you still get an allowance.
"And I was like, 'Well, I’m going to be an actress,' so he was like, ‘Alright, well, you’re on your own.' I was cut off," she continued. "I did some little modeling jobs that helped me pay my rent, and then I started auditioning and got some jobs."
The How to Be Single star admitted that her money problem became so "difficult" at times that she sometimes "couldn’t afford groceries and things like that" so she asked her mom for help.
Elsewhere in the interview, Dakota spoke about the nepo-baby discourse and said: "When it first started, I found it to be incredibly annoying and boring, like, if you’re a journalist, write about something else. That’s just, like, lame."
The remark immediately went viral on social media, where the actress was called out by users for seemingly refusing to accept the privilege she obtained just by being born into a famous family.
One user slammed: "I don’t understand how it’s so difficult for them to say 'yeah my famous and rich parents helped me get into the industry.'"
Another criticized: "The reason Dakota Johnson says whatever she wants whenever she wants is because of her extreme level of privilege and access to fame. She's a perfect nepo baby example, including the tantrum about having it pointed out."
A third remarked: "The amount of nepo babies that have had the chance to use their statement on this topic to AT LEAST be perceived as grounded and likable and MISSED IT is embarrassing."
A fourth added: "Idk why nepo babies get so mad about that discourse. Like you should feel lucky that you had it easier than most."
Yikes.
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