About a year ago nearly every tech CEO seemingly malfunctioned and switched to
“evil mode”, not unlike the Krusty doll in that fantastic Simpsons Treehouse of Horror special. It was a mask off moment that was at once expected and unexpected. Of course we all knew that the billionaire magnates that ran massive online enterprises were largely amoral, self-aggrandizing blowhards. Sinister executives are part of the great and storied fabric of Western civilization.
But perhaps they got too comfortable in the role, because in 2025 nearly every day one of these CEOs would release a statement so callous and anti-human that it may as well have been lifted from the script of a 90s action adventure movie for children. Many were proudly boasting about the decimation of entire industries, gleefully proclaiming that AI was going to destroy every creative’s dreams. “Thousands will lose their jobs!” was not framed as a disaster but as a victory.
Thankfully that rhetoric has been dialed back in 2026, even if the AI behemoth continues to lurch forward. The magnates have shut their yaps, with some even fleeing their country with their tail between their legs. Now it’s only pea-brained tech bros on social media cheering on the demise of human art.
This year, a new “open secret” was dragged into the light. The entertainment industry is currently in the middle of its own mask off moment as nepo babies not only shed the shame of being the most well watered industry plants, but boldly embrace their silver spoon heritage.
This of course has come to a new level of discourse recently with a multi-billionaire’s daughter launching her own personal Make-A-Wish campaign masqueraded as a budding career.
Stella Lefty, the daughter of a man with a net worth of five billion dollars, really really liked Noah Kahan’s 2023 hit “Stick Season”. So she made her own version, and now she wants everyone to hear that version. (That version being her song “Boston”).
The lore seems to get more ridiculous and hilarious every day. There are of course accusations of paying for streams, paying for likes, and perhaps the most demonstrably true: paying for comments.
The entire debacle feels like a joke, a meme that might just be intentionally created to put the name Stella Lefty on the map. A weird weaponized subversion of the Streisand Effect might just be what it takes to get your name out there these days.
It brings to mind the ARK Music Factory fiasco from 2011 – the studio where rich kids were sent to make a pop song and music video in a strange Build-A-Bear type scenario, a vanity project that really only succeeded in creating precisely one career: Rebecca Black. Not because of some incredible production or songwriting, but because of the same kind of controversy that is currently buzzing around Stella Lefty. It was an early example of “so bad it’s good” internet content, but in the end it really did only work for Black. Her ARK Music Factory peers Sarah Maugaotega and Madison Bray did not benefit from the same kind of outrage coverage.
It would not be surprising then, if Stella Lefty were in fact embracing the nepo baby accusations and playing into them, turning herself into a beacon of audacity.
She has certainly taken the heat off dozens of other recently unmasked nepo babies, including sibling duo Malcolm Todd and Audrey Hobert, both the children of an L.A. producer. Any discourse about them and their connections now seems quaint compared to Lefty. Most discourse about any other nepo babies will seem quaint, and this might be an unintended consequence of this entire situation.
The online commentariat will shrug off Will Ferrell’s son Magnus or Justin Trudeau’s son Xavier and their respective rises to fame.
Sure, Gracie Abrams is the daughter of a major movie director, whatever.
We will all be desensitized to the nepotism. After all we embraced Drake and Miley Cyrus despite their leg up in the industry during their formative years. Why should we not also embrace King Princess, Blondshell and The Kid Laroi?
Of course this could fizzle out in spectacular fashion. Lefty’s aspirations could easily be the musical equivalent to Michael Bloomberg’s disastrous billion dollar political campaign in 2020.
A shame though, that “Boston” is so tepid.
It’s no “Somebody’s Watching Me” by Rockwell (son of Motown founder and CEO Berry Gordy) and it’s definitely no “Party Rock Anthem” by LMFAO (other son and half-nephew of Motown founder and CEO Berry Gordy).
It’s a stale countrified version of Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season”, and people are going to remember the memes, not the music.
