Why Do People Resent a Star With a Famous Father?

Joe Rogan tells Michael Douglas the pressure came from being the son of a great man, on top of youth, good looks, and fame, a gift and a burden at the same time. Michael Douglas says kids can be nasty once they know who your mother is and who your father is, because they make assumptions about the family.

Joe Rogan asks whether nearly every business runs on the same family help. Every mother and father tries to get a son or daughter ahead. Restaurants make it super common. At Gaetano's in Las Vegas, the dad started the place and the son runs it. Cleaning businesses and groceries follow the same pattern. A family business is a normal thing. People single out celebrity instead, because fame is difficult to acquire and most people are not going to get it. Get that rare thing just because you are the son of a great man, and people get upset. They expect an insane struggle through poverty and strife before anyone finally makes it.

Family help looks ordinary when the prize is a restaurant. It draws anger when the prize is fame, because fame is scarce and the hardship story is the one people expect.