1.
Talking about wanting to present his kids with Blake Vigorous a standard life, Ryan Reynolds made a questionable declare about Vigorous’s upbringing. “We each grew up very working class, and I bear in mind once they have been very younger, I used to say or suppose, like, ‘Oh God, I’d by no means have had a present like this once I was a child,’ or, ‘I by no means would’ve had this luxurious of getting takeout,’ or no matter.” This checks out for Ryan, whose dad and mom have been a retail employee and a police officer.
Nonetheless, Blake’s dad and mom have been actor-director Ernie Vigorous and expertise supervisor Elaine Vigorous. She grew up within the suburbs of LA and went to Burbank Excessive with different future celebs. All her siblings have been within the business, and he or she rapidly acquired her first main position at 17 (in The Sisterhood of the Touring Pants) with no important prior expertise, main many to name her a “nepo child.” There’s additionally this video of her preparing for promenade, which reveals her designer robe and a bed room with a chandelier and, it appears, an en-suite rest room. Let’s simply say she was definitely in a position to afford takeout.
2.
Victoria Beckham additionally claimed that she grew up “working class” within the documentary Beckham. Her husband David rapidly took situation with this, pushing Victoria to confess to the kind of automotive her father, an electronics engineer, drove her to high school in…a Rolls-Royce.
3.
Lorde skyrocketed to fame along with her track “Royals” at age 16, but it surely painted an image of her life to this point that wasn’t *fairly* correct. The lyrics discuss by no means having seen a diamond and never being from cash. In addition they state, “And I am not happy with my tackle in a torn-up city, no postcode envy.” Her track “Staff” and its accompanying music movies additionally depict comparable messages about Lorde and her buddies and painting hanging out round dilapidated buildings and delivery containers.
Besides Lorde grew up within the pretty rich suburbs exterior Auckland with a poet and photographer mom and a civil engineer father. She was well-educated and was briefly put in a gifted children program; she grew up taking drama courses, studying literary classics, and proofreading her mom’s thesis. Whereas certain, she wasn’t precisely rich, she was much more privileged than her lyrics appear to recommend.
4.
Travis Scott’s roots are a *little* questionable. Whereas he is admitted he grew up in middle-class suburbs (his mother labored for Apple, and his dad was a enterprise proprietor), he additionally says he “used to stick with my grandma within the hood from ages one to 6,” the place he noticed “random loopy stuff. [I saw] mad bums and other people trying bizarre, hungry, and dirty. I used to be at all times like, ‘I gotta get the f**okay out this place.’ It gave me my edge—[it made me] who I’m proper now.” Whereas this appears to take a look at, it is debatable how a lot of that point Scott would bear in mind, and it is also price noting that Scott went to a personal elementary and center college. “It was just like the freshest bitches and all my homies have been wealthy as fuck,” he recalled.
His songs appear to color the image of getting spent far more time within the “hood,” and never as a toddler, with lyrics like “Pulled out of the hood, Toyota; Drove again to the hood, Lambo” and “I finished made it out the hood by way of all of the hoops,” and so forth. Making it “out of the hood” since you moved while you have been six is not fairly the identical as what his songs appear to recommend.
5.
Tyga equally talks concerning the “hood” and Compton roots in his songs, however on this unaired clip from a 2008 sport present, he says he grew up well-off within the Valley and that his dad and mom drove a Vary Rover. Nonetheless, Tyga later claimed the clip from the sport present was scripted, saying, “I by no means grew up within the Valley. I lived in Compton/Gardena my entire life.” Based mostly on his name-drop of Gardena’s Peary Center College in his track “Get Large,” it seems to be like Tyga had moved to Gardena by center college. I will let readers determine on this one — can Tyga declare Compton?
6.
Regardless of how he was portrayed in Straight Outta Compton, Ice Dice wasn’t really from Compton. He was born in Baldwin Hills and raised in South Central Los Angeles, and his dad and mom each had secure jobs working at UCLA. He attended George Washington Preparatory Excessive College and later was bused to William Howard Taft Constitution Excessive College in suburban Woodland Hills. He then earned a level in architectural drafting. Many colleagues have questioned his road cred. Rapper Kam stated in a diss observe, “It is a disgrace you bought wealthy off our stress and strife, / you ain’t by no means gang banged in your life,” and each Kam and DJ Alonzo Williams referred to him as an “actor.”
7.
Whitney Cummings has repeatedly stated that she was poor as a child, stating that she liked Roseanne as a result of “I grew up poor, and that was the primary present that seemed like my home. It was the primary present that did not make me really feel unhealthy about myself.” She’s additionally listed the “poor individuals meals” she ate, like cereal, peanut butter and jelly (or banana) sandwiches, and fish sticks. Whereas she admitted her mother was a Neiman Marcus publicist and her dad was a “enterprise capitalist,” she stated it was extra that he referred to as himself that and would borrow and lend cash till it was gone. She stated the warmth did not work in her home, that she usually had lice, and that she usually ate at neighbors’ homes since her dad and mom did not feed her.
Nonetheless, the backstory feels shaky at finest. Cummings grew up in Georgetown (a rich space), attended St. Andrew’s Episcopal College (round $50,000 in yearly tuition), had her personal horse, after which went to UPenn, an Ivy League college. Whereas it might be that her circumstances drastically modified in the midst of her childhood (she did state she moved in along with her sister earlier than highschool), it definitely does not appear to be she grew up in poverty. This early Washington Submit interview states Cummings grew up “in relative consolation padded by free lotions, perfumes and garments from Bloomingdale’s and Neiman Marcus.”
8.
In his track “Juicy,” Biggie Smalls claimed that he was so poor rising up that he would eat sardines for dinner. He additionally stated they’d skip Christmas and had no warmth. However his mom, Voletta Wallace, later claimed this wasn’t true, denying that he ever needed to eat sardines for dinner. They probably did not rejoice Christmas as a result of his mom was a Jehovah’s Witness.
Biggie additionally went to non-public college, and the “one room shack” he referenced in his music was really an condo in Brooklyn (it has been renovated, although it was clearly by no means a “shack”). He was described by the New Yorker as “center class.”
9.
Bob Dylan has been caught in quite a lot of lies about his childhood. For instance, he as soon as claimed that he did not know his dad and mom — across the similar time, he was placing them up in lodges and alluring them to his reveals. He additionally as soon as claimed he was raised in New Mexico and sang for a touring carnival from the ages of 13 to 19 — and that he used to show “tips in Instances Sq. to make ends meet.” None of that is true.
He additionally modified his title and the best way he talked and dressed to higher emulate Woody Guthrie and claimed he had a troubled childhood. The outcome was that Dylan had the persona of a working-class man from the American West and never that of a largely suburban, middle-class child from upstate Minnesota, near Canada.
10.
Lana Del Rey’s music usually paints an image of a “white trash” lady who got here from a low-income household out west or in Florida and lived in a trailer park — which followers have contradicted after studying her father is now a millionaire. Nonetheless, Del Rey maintains that her father made his cash after she turned an grownup, saying that she grew up in one in every of “probably the most rural locations in America” (Lake Placid) and that her household “had completely no cash.” Whereas she did go to an elite boarding college, she stated it was by way of her uncle working there and that she obtained monetary support.
Nonetheless — Del Rey did not really reside in a trailer park till she was an grownup when she used cash from her first album deal to purchase a trailer. For a lot of followers, studying she lived in a “little mountain city” in New York State and attended boarding college shattered the phantasm of Del Rey’s upbringing.
11.
Child Rock equally constructed a picture round being poor and coming “straight out the trailer” — when in actuality, he was born to millionaire dad and mom and lived on an property in Michigan with an entire visitor home, apple orchard, horse stables, and personal tennis courts. His father reportedly had a second house in Jupiter Island, Florida.
12.
Ed Sheeran has spoken a number of occasions about couch-surfing and never having anyplace to reside when he was first attempting to make it, each when he moved to London and when he moved to LA. In London, he even stated he used to sleep in an arch with a heating duct exterior Buckingham Palace. He even wrote the track “Homeless” there. He additionally would sleep on the prepare after gigs. “I spent per week catching up on sleep on Circle Line trains. I would exit and play a gig, wait till 5 a.m. when the Underground opened, sleep on the Circle Line till 12, go to a session — after which repeat. It wasn’t that unhealthy. It is not like I used to be sleeping tough on the chilly streets.”
Sheeran, who was born to rich dad and mom, additionally stated, “I did not have anyplace to reside for a lot of 2008 and the entire of 2009 and 2010, however someway I made it work. I knew the place I might get a mattress at a sure time of evening, and I knew who I might name at any time to get a ground to sleep on. Being sociable helped. Consuming helped.” Later, after individuals identified his privilege and parentage, he stated headlines that he’d referred to as himself “homeless” had taken his quotes out of context. “Everybody’s saying ‘Ed Sheeran was homeless’ — I by no means stated that within the ebook. I went with out a mattress for some nights, that is it.”
13.
In an previous interview to advertise their then-upcoming present, Holding Up with the Kardashians, Khloé, Kim, Kourtney, and Kris spoke about their upbringing. Within the clip, Kourtney tried to shatter the concept they have been at all times wealthy by saying she was reduce off in her early 20s.
Kim adopted up by saying it was really tougher for them to develop up privileged as a result of it created an expectation for a sure way of life they needed to preserve. She additionally claimed “most individuals are doing nothing” and appeared to suppose it was novel that she was working at 16.
14.
Years later, Kardashian ultimately acknowledged her privilege rising up however then appeared to insinuate they really had a troublesome monetary upbringing. “Yeah, we grew up privileged, however individuals do not know the story of [Caitlyn Jenner] and Mother having to promote their home in Hidden Hills as a result of they could not afford it they usually needed to transfer to an condo,” she stated on her actuality present. This data is contradicted in Kris’s memoir. Talking of Jenner, she was a former Olympic athlete and celeb, whereas the Kardashians’ beginning father, Robert Kardashian, was a lawyer finest identified for representing O.J. Simpson.
15.
Gwyneth Paltrow equally stated she’s “fully self-made” as a result of her dad and mom — Emmy and Tony award-winning actor Blythe Danner and movie director Bruce Paltrow — did not give her cash as an grownup. “Individuals suppose, ‘She’s only a wealthy child.’ Till I used to be 18, I used to be. Then I used to be broke. I’ve by no means taken a dime off my dad and mom.” When she dropped out of faculty to be an actor, she says her dad refused to “assist” her. “I used to be like, ‘Yeah, proper.’ And he was like, ‘No, I am not.’ So I acquired an condo with a roommate; I labored as a hostess at a restaurant; I’d scrounge quarters to purchase Starbucks — and stroll there to save lots of gasoline. I bear in mind as soon as asking my dad for cash, like, ‘Please, I am actually caught. Are you able to assist?’ And he stated, ‘You are greater than welcome to come back over for dinner.’ That was it.”
16.
Vanilla Ice initially claimed he’d had a tough, poor upbringing in Florida, which made headlines after journalists found he’d really lived in a middle-class suburb of Dallas and drove a white IROC Camaro Z28. Whereas Ice ultimately admitted to some statements about his previous being false, he nonetheless doubled down on claims that he “grew up poor on the streets” and frolicked in predominately Black neighborhoods in Miami and Dallas. As for his automotive, he stated he purchased a flowery automotive from doing motocross however could not afford gasoline.
Although he additionally admitted he “really tried to detour individuals,” saying, “I used to be embarrassed to inform individuals I used to be from Farmers Department [an inner-ring suburb of Dallas]. I did not inform them I used to be from Miami. I did not inform them I used to be from anyplace. I used to be similar to, ‘Hear, I am from across the nook, man. I am from across the fucking manner.'” General, although, he stated he misled individuals to guard his privateness — which did not cease critics from parsing by way of his lies and questioning his road cred.
17.
When Daisy Ridley was requested about her privilege in an interview with the Guardian, she appeared confused after which in contrast her upbringing to that of Star Wars costar John Boyega. For reference, Boyega has stated he was a “poor lad from London, with dad and mom who moved from Nigeria to the UK and lived on council estates” and that his household was too poor to afford toys. He additionally went to theater college on a hardship fund.
Ridley, in distinction, had a banker mom and photographer father and was additionally associated to well-known playwright Arnold Ridley and BBC’s former head of engineering John Harry Dunn Ridley. She grew up within the rich space of Maida Vale. Nonetheless, she stated, “John grew up on a council property in Peckham and I feel me and him are comparable sufficient…” She additionally stated, when the interviewer advised that she had privilege as a result of she went to a personal college, “I went to a boarding college for performing arts, which was totally different.” She did attend the varsity with some sort of scholarship and referred to as her house in Maida Vale “the ricketiest house on the road.”
18.
Drake has additionally framed his story as very rags-to-riches, notably in his track “Began from the Backside.” Critics have taken situation with this portrayal, contemplating Drake (then Aubrey Graham) started residing in Forest Hill (a wealthy neighborhood) in sixth grade and was forged in Degrassi at age 14. Drake later claimed, “Everyone thinks I went to some non-public college and my household was wealthy. Perhaps it is my fault. Perhaps I have not talked sufficient about it, however I did not develop up completely satisfied. I wasn’t in a contented house. … We have been very poor, like broke.”
“The one cash I had coming in was off of Canadian TV, which is not that a lot cash while you break it down,” Drake stated. “A season of Canadian tv is underneath a trainer’s wage, I will let you know that a lot. It is positively not one thing to go fucking get.” He stated he lived together with his mom on the underside two flooring of a home, saying the house was “not huge, it was not luxurious. It was what we might afford.” Whereas it is true that Drake was solely making a reported $50,000 a yr from Degrassi, he was nonetheless a TV star showing at red-carpet occasions, which is not precisely the “backside.”
19.
Girl Gaga has painted herself as center class rising up a number of occasions, although she grew up on the notoriously rich Higher West Facet simply blocks from Lincoln Middle and went to the non-public college Sacred Coronary heart. At college, Gaga stated a few of her classmates had excessive wealth, not like her household: “All our cash went into schooling and the home.” Gaga labored at a diner and acquired a Gucci purse along with her first paycheck, saying, “I used to be so excited as a result of all the women at Sacred Coronary heart at all times had their fancy purses, and I at all times had no matter. My mother and pop weren’t shopping for me a $600 purse.” Her dad and mom did, nonetheless, take out a mortgage to purchase her a child grand piano, and he or she took piano and voice classes whereas rising up.
Her father paid a part of her lease for her first condo and provided to pay her lease at NYU if music did not work out. He was very profitable, having invented GuestWi-Fi, and her mom was a VP at Verizon. Whereas it is clear Gaga was not as wealthy as her wildly rich classmates, not having dad and mom who purchase you a $600 purse doesn’t suggest your loved ones does not have a lot cash.
20.
Taylor Swift has by no means explicitly claimed to have grown up poor, however many assumed she got here from humble beginnings, particularly as a result of her claims that she grew up on a farm. In “I Wager You Suppose About Me,” she sings, “You grew up in a silver-spoon gated neighborhood, / glamorous, shiny, brilliant Beverly Hills. / I used to be raised on a farm, no, it wasn’t a mansion / — simply livin’ room dancin’ and kitchen desk payments.” She additionally famous she was from a Christmas tree farm particularly when she launched her track “Christmas Tree Farm.”
Whereas Swift did develop up on a farm, it was 11 acres and run by her father as a pastime. For his day job, he was a Merrill Lynch monetary adviser — and comes from a protracted line of financial institution presidents. This was their house. In addition they had the cash to maneuver to Nashville in order that Taylor might pursue a profession in music.
21.
Lastly, 21 Savage has usually spoken about rising up in “the hood-hood” of Atlanta, and lots of articles famous he was born in Dominica. Nonetheless, he is really British — he moved to the US round age seven. Nonetheless, this one’s a little bit of a stretch, because it appears his teenage years have been as tumultuous as he claims and that he wasn’t essentially well-off in England. That did not cease the memes.
Did any of those shock you? Tell us within the feedback!
