Dakota Johnson Found the Nepo Baby Controversy 'Incredibly Annoying and Boring': 'Write About Something Else'
Dakota Johnson recently poked fun at her "nepo baby" status — her parents are Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith — on 'Saturday Night Live'
Dakota Johnson is not a fan of the "nepo baby" conversation.
Johnson, 34, said that she finds conversations surrounding celebrities whose parents are also celebrities or otherwise influential in the entertainment industry "incredibly annoying and boring" during an appearance on the Today show Wednesday.
"Like, if you’re a journalist, write about something else," she told host Hoda Kotb, who asked Johnson — whose parents are actors Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson — about poking fun at her own celebrity status.
"That’s just like, lame. So the opportunity to make fun of it, I jumped at," she added.
Johnson, who has been promoting her new movie Madame Web in recent weeks, recently poked fun at having celebrity parents during her recent Saturday Night Live hosting stint. In one filmed video with the show's group Please Don't Destroy, she and comedians John Higgins and Martin Herlihy — sons of SNL producer Steve Higgins and former head writer Tim Herlihy, respectively — struck a "nepo truce" with matching rings while otherwise roasting each other.
Related: Dakota Johnson's Parents: Everything She's Said About Her Famous Family
Johnson and her father Don, 74, have been open about his decision to cut her off financially when she decided to pursue acting rather than attend college after she graduated high school.
"He said, ‘If you go to college, you’ll still get an allowance,' " she recalled on the Today show Wednesday. "And I was like, ‘Well, I’m going to be an actress.’ So he was like, ‘Alright, well you’re on your own.' "
Dakota Johnson speaks to @hodakotb about ‘Madame Web,’ how she feels about the trajectory of her career, how her dad Don Johnson cut her off financially, her thoughts on the ‘nepo baby’ label and more.
And you’re always invited to join us all day, Dakota! pic.twitter.com/yd5grJOdDS— TODAY (@TODAYshow) February 7, 2024
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Johnson secured her first acting role as an adult in 2010's The Social Network and has seen significant success since, most notably for her starring role in 2015's Fifty Shades of Grey and its two sequels.
"I did some little modeling jobs that helped me pay my rent. And then I started auditioning and got some jobs," she told Kotb of how she survived after her father took her off "the payroll," as she says he refers to the family's finances. "I definitely had moments where I couldn’t afford groceries and had to ask my mom to help me. She was the nice one."
Related: Don Johnson's 5 Kids: All About Jesse, Dakota, Atherton, Jasper and Deacon
Dakota has shared in the past that she understood why her parents did not want her to forsake higher education to pursue acting. "I couldn't wait because I grew up on set. My parents were always working with amazing artists, and I just loved it," she told W Magazine of her lifelong desire to act back in 2022. "I wanted to be a part of it so badly."
Madame Web releases in theaters Feb. 14.
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