North West's Lion King debut hit with 'nepo baby' accusations

Kim Kardashian's daughter North West starred as Simba in the 30th anniversary of Lion King – but some people have questions.

Over the weekend, the 10-year-old took to the Hollywood Bowl stage to sing the iconic song 'I Just Can’t Wait To Be King'.

While some praised her confidence, others quickly accused her of being a nepo baby.

For the blissfully unaware, a nepo baby is short for nepotism baby. They're generally a child of someone in the industry and have benefitted from their parents' fame and/or connections.

For the most part, the criticism wasn't directly at West given she is only a child – but instead, at nepotism and for reportedly "stealing" the opportunity from other children who have trained to secure certain roles or jobs.

“I Just Can’t Wait To Be King” performed by North West // Lion King Hollywood Bowlyoutu.be

West's outfit also didn't help the cause and raised a few suspicions, as the rest of the Lion King production dressed in full character.

Instead, West donned a furry hoodie with shorts and furry slippers.

A spokesperson for the musical said that West, Jennifer Hudson and Jeremy Irons "were not outfitted by the production" designed by Marina Toybina.

Snippets of the performance soon garnered criticism online with one person harshly writing: "Why embarrass her like that? Setting her up to fail while stealing the opportunity from kids who worked for it?"

Another brutal take read: "People are saying 'Oh she's only 10 don't judge her on her on her singing' but I know there are so many 10-year-olds who can sing and have actual talent. This is not one of them. Think of the other kids who worked so hard. This one got in off of celebrity status. It's so messed up."

Meanwhile, a third person quipped: "I’m sorry but casting North West as Simba when there are hundreds of properly trained theatre kids with voice coaches, dance skills, and experience was a HORRIBLE choice. It definitely makes you question the credibility of the casting director. You let Kim pay to ruin your show."

Another wrote: "Yeah, your nepotism isn’t cute. she wasn’t appropriate for the role."

Indy100 reached out to Kim Kardashian for comment

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.