This is in competition for being my favorite surprise performance of the residency. Not only is this literally one of my favorite songs, but they sound so good together. PLUS they look like they're having so much freakin' fun!
That's not true at all. He refers to himself as a "nepo baby." He's done it twice recently. He was talking about the upcoming "Wicked" film, and he literally said, "I'm a bit biased because my father is the producer. That's the nepo baby in me." (Also, please stop overusing the word "triggered." I have PTSD from being SAed when I was a child. To actually be "triggered" is a really serious thing.) The thing that bothers Ben is when people imply that he doesn't have any talent and is only where he is because of nepotism. Which is not true! Ben has a Tony, a Grammy, and an Emmy, and he won all of those awards before the age of 30. He talks about auditioning for roles and not getting them. The creators of DEH hand picked him because they knew he would be perfect for Evan. (And he was.) Yes, he was given opportunities because of his dad, but if you think he isn't talented or doesn't deserve his fame...Well, you're just an idiot. LOL I don't know how else to say it. He created the role. Casting him in the movie just made sense, it had nothing to do with nepotism. If they had cast anyone else, the fans would have rioted. Did he look too old? Yeah. But I honestly blame a lot of that on the hair and makeup. (What were they thinking?!) They cast "old" people to play teenagers ALL THE TIME. That's normal in Hollywood. If you look at the Rotten Tomatoes audience score for the DEH film, most people enjoyed it. I really don't care what the critics thought. I don't know anyone in "real life" who wasn't moved by the film. It's an important story. I wish something like that existed when I was a teen and struggling with my mental health. If you actually asked Ben about being a nepo baby, he would probably say, "My dad is awesome and I owe everything to him." He wouldn't be "triggered." If you implied that he doesn't deserve to be where he is and he's only famous because of his dad, then he'd probably get upset. Wouldn't you?! People came for his neck when that movie came out, and I don't blame him for getting pissed off. The plan was always to cast him, but then COVID hit and things got messy. People got upset because Ben said that the film wouldn't exist without him. He's right! They rushed to get it done so that he could be in it. If they wanted to cast Idina and Kristin in "Wicked," that film would have been made 20 years ago.
