Amid harsh claims of nepo baby advantage and a mom paying off a casting director so she can get the role of Simba in The Lion King's anniversary concert, North West's fans took time to defend her. Unfortunately, these claims are not that far from the truth, an insider revealed.
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's daughter, North West, stirred up controversy online over the weekend with her acting debut at The Lion King's 30th anniversary concert in Los Angeles.
Critics unleashed a wave of "nepo baby" backlash, suggesting she landed the role solely because of her famous parents.
Some praised the 10-year-old's performance as being cute and said those who criticized North are forgetting she's merely a kid. Some refused to believe that North West did not get the part through auditions.
However, there are now insiders familiar with the project revealing that North's familial ties did influence her casting as Young Simba.
This is quite disheartening considering those who made the effort to defend her performance, also refuse to believe she was just given the role even though there was a formal and laborious audition process set out. Other kids had to painstakingly go through stages of proving themselves worthy for the role, but the insider claims North West did not have to.
Sources disclosed to Daily Mail UK that she didn't have to compete for the role and was cast due to her family's connection with the production company behind the event at the Hollywood Bowl.
"The Lion King at the Hollywood Bowl and The Kardashians are both produced by the same production company, Fulwell 73 Productions," one insider dished.
"Gabe Turner, who is a partner in Fulwell, is also the creative showrunner for The Lion King," the source added.
The source continued to say that North West was simply told that "if she can carry a note the gig is hers."
According to an insider, North's knack for grabbing headlines because she is the daughter of two famous people played a significant role in her casting decision.
"They were looking to generate publicity, which they succeeded in doing," the source explained.
The source added, "But North didn't have to compete against anyone else and anyone else who would have auditioned would have not gotten it anyways."
The source revealed that "This is 100 per cent the result of her family's relationship with Disney and with Fulwell."
Another insider revealed that the family intends to feature North's performance in an upcoming episode of their reality show, suggesting a win-win situation for all parties involved.
Earlier on, a Tiktoker, whose child auditioned for the said role, revealed that Kim Kardashian paid off the casting director to secure this role for North.
@lejennymatthews so disappointed in this decision #northwest #nepobaby original sound - Jenny Matthews
The TikToker said her child had Broadway experience and already went through several stages of the auditioned process but the role was given to someone without experience and did not audition.
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