Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid’s son Jack Quaid responds after mom defends him from ‘nepo baby’ label

Originally appeared on E! Online

Jack Quaid thinks his mom was just trying to be his superhero.

After Meg Ryan defended him against the “nepo baby” label, the “Boys” star offered some clarity on her comments, saying that he she was only being protective of her son, whom she shares with ex Dennis Quaid.

“My first thought was like, she’s being a mom,” Quaid told Daily Beast in an interview published July 10. “She’s being a loving mom.”

The 32-year-old went on to offer his own take on Ryan’s statement, which slammed the title as being “so dismissive of his work ethic, his gifts, and how sensitive he is to the idea of his privilege.” As Quaid explained, “I don’t think she’s trying to say that I’m not a nepo baby.”

“I think she’s just trying to say that, in her opinion, it undermines my talent,” he continued. “I don’t think it undermines my talent. I know that I work hard, and I know I’ve heard ‘no’ way more than I’ve heard ‘yes.’”

But that’s not to say Quaid doesn’t know that Hollywood is “insanely hard to break into” and that he had “an easier time doing that than most.” As he put it, “Both things can be true. So no, I don’t think she was trying to say that I’m not a privileged person. She knows. She must know.”

As for Quaid’s own thoughts on the nepotism debate? He’s certainly not shying away from the topic.

“No matter what I do, people are going to call attention to it,” Quaid said. “People have called me a ‘nepo baby.’ I’m inclined to agree. I am an immensely privileged person, was able to get representation pretty early on, and that’s more than half the battle.”

The “Oppenheimer” actor added, “I knew the door was open for me in a lot of ways that it’s just not for a lot of actors. And I’ve just tried to work as hard as I possibly can to prove that I deserve to walk through that door.”