| The World Cup in 2006, held in Germany, was defined by one memorable squad: the England WAGs. Taking over Baden-Baden, they exhibited their athletic prowess (via vigorous shopping), unrelenting stamina (for nights out) and meticulous formation (a Hydra with hair extensions and mortgageable handbags strutting through the spa town). What the Lions lacked in silverware, the WAGs made up for in tabloid gold. It was hard to look away – even if you wanted to. The churn of fame is now so aggressive it makes Andy Warhol’s once hyperbolic 15-minutes prediction look conservative. Nevertheless, the WAG – long evolved from those nascent glory days of Tweedy, Curran, Clancy et al – remains an object both of fascination and derision. Even today, with the 2022 World Cup kicking off in Qatar and the many deeply troubling, infinitely more important issues surrounding the tournament to discuss, WAG-curiosity endures. For many, Baden-Baden was a moment that celebrity culture jumped the shark (famous for doing what exactly?). Now in the age of social media, the hypocrisy of this sentiment is obvious. The 2006 World Cup took place in a pre-Instagram era, before many of us discovered our own primal urge to peacock and cultivate micro-versions of celebrity. We just didn’t have the tools to do it yet. Contrast the accepted eye-rolling surrounding WAGs with the fawning kind of adoration historically reserved for the so-called ‘nepo babies’ (zeitgeisty shorthand for the Children Of the rich/powerful/famous) heating up the Internet this week after model Vittoria Ceretti posted an Instagram story in response to an interview given by Lily-Rose Depp. ‘You have no fucking idea how much you have to fight to make people respect you. TAKES YEARS. you just get it by free day one,’ she wrote. ‘I know it's not your fault, but please, appreciate and know the place you came from.’ Raised with the priceless confidence of wealth and the innate currency of connection, the nepo babies routinely land plum gigs in creative industries. They’ll tell you it’s not because of their parents, but it sure ain’t in spite of them. Nevertheless, the Children Of continued to be ushered in to the inner-inner sanctum despite any backlash. In contrast, we are affronted by the ordinariness of the WAGs and the regional, unimpressive origins stories. It could have been me! Hang on, why wasn't it me? ’t> The nepo babies and the WAGs are similar in that they are the beneficiaries of advantages not entirely, autonomously earned. Some are born privileged, some have privilege thrust upon them. Neither is better, but there is a blatant artificiality with the WAGs that, ironically, makes them more authentic – and at the very least so much more fun to watch. ’t> Laura |
