North West inadvertently waded into the “nepotism baby” discourse last weekend after her performance in a concert staging of Disney’s “The Lion King” drew a blistering response online.
The 10-year-old daughter of Kim Kardashian and Ye (the rapper formerly known as Kanye West) appeared as a gender-swapped young Simba in “The Lion King 30th Anniversary ― A Live-to-Film Concert Event.” Actors Billy Eichner, Jennifer Hudson and Jeremy Irons were among those also featured in the show, which was staged Friday and Saturday at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and was recorded for a future Disney+ special.
As part of her performance, West sang one of the film’s best-known songs, “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King,” surrounded by a troupe of dancers dressed as cheetahs, zebras and other vibrant animals.
Though she reportedly drew a standing ovation from the Hollywood Bowl audience, her interpretation of the song was received less enthusiastically online after video clips began surfacing on social media. Not surprisingly, many were quick to brand her a “nepo baby,” suggesting her casting was simply the byproduct of having famous parents.
Watch an “Entertainment Tonight” report on North West’s “Lion King” performance below.
“Any performer or parent of a young performer who has spent years training in acting, dance and singing is allowed to be really really deeply offended by this casting choice….,” singer and screenwriter Nick Atkinson wrote on Instagram.
Actor and former talk show host Rosie O’Donnell felt similarly, calling the performance “tragic on every level.”
Others, however, reserved their harshest criticisms for West’s costume, which, according to People, was not created by designer Marina Toybina ― who outfitted most of the show’s remaining cast ― but by ERL, a brand based in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles.
“North West’s costume also looks…
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