Key Takeaways
- Karrueche Tran defended Sylvester Stallone for helping his daughter Scarlet advance on Tulsa King, arguing that parents naturally use their resources to create opportunities for their children.
- Stallone bluntly acknowledged the advantage—“Of course it’s nepotism”—while Tran pushed back on the “nepo baby” label because children cannot control the families they enter.
- Scarlet will become a series regular for Tulsa King Season 5, while Stallone’s daughter Sophia is producing film and TV projects with his Balboa Productions.
Sylvester Stallone isn't denying that his daughter has benefited from his fame. In fact, the Tulsa King star has openly embraced the nepotism label, and Karrueche Tran has a few words about his response.
On the latest episode of The Pop Exchange Show, Tran and co-host Jason Kennedy discussed Stallone’s decision to give his daughter, Scarlet Rose Stallone, a larger role on the Paramount+ crime drama. The conversation followed Stallone's recent interview with USA Today, in which he addressed accusations that his daughter's career was getting a boost from his Hollywood connections.
“Of course it's nepotism, you idiot,” Stallone told the outlet, according to Kennedy, who read the remark during the broadcast.
Rather than criticize the actor, Tran defended parents using their resources to help their children succeed.
“I mean, the average person does it,” Tran said. “They want, as you said, they want the best for their kids. They're going to give them whatever opportunities.”
She acknowledged that celebrity families face far more scrutiny, but questioned why the practice sparks so much controversy.
“Obviously they're celebrities, and they're in the spotlight, it's different, but who cares?” Tran said.
Kennedy agreed, praising Stallone for addressing the issue without sidestepping the obvious.
“I like Sly's approach here,” Kennedy said, explaining that he appreciated the actor's willingness to acknowledge his daughter's advantages.
Tran also took issue with the broader conversation surrounding Hollywood's so-called nepo babies.
“I struggle when I see a headline that says 'nepo baby,'” she said, adding that the term has become fashionable even though “it's not the kids' fault that they were born to this.”
The discussion comes as Scarlet's career on Tulsa King continues to develop. She plays Spencer, a former barista whose involvement in Dwight “The General” Manfredi's world has expanded considerably since the series began.
Stallone recently teased that his daughter's character would undergo major changes during Season 4.
“This season she really goes from barista to something wholly other,” he told Extra, before hinting at even bigger developments in Season 5.
“Wait till you see where that goes,” he added. “Oh, my God.”
Scarlet has since been promoted to series regular for the show's fifth season, which Paramount+ renewed before Season 4 premiered on Oct. 16. Production is moving from Atlanta to New York as Dwight returns to his Mafia roots.
And Scarlet isn't the only Stallone daughter working alongside her father.
Earlier this week, Amazon MGM Studios announced development of The Summer of Broken Rules, a film adaptation of K.L. Walther's bestselling novel. Stallone's daughter, Sophia, is producing the project through her newly launched Common Era Projects, alongside her father's Balboa Productions.
Sophia is also developing Bourbon & Lies, a television adaptation of Victoria Wilder's books, through another collaboration involving Balboa.
For Tran, the difference between famous parents and everyone else comes down to how visible the opportunities are.
Kennedy even pointed to his own upbringing, explaining that his parents’ financial assistance helped him move to Los Angeles and start his entertainment career.
“I wouldn't be in Los Angeles without my parents,” he said, citing their help with housing, transportation, and other expenses.
