Kate Hudson and Chris Robinson’s son, Ryder Robinson, turned 22 last month. I remember when he was born, so this makes me feel so old! Kate and Chris have both talked about Ryder, as well as their other children, in interviews, but have done a good enough job protecting his privacy that we don’t know much about him. He also stays out of the public eye, despite coming from a Hollywood family. Well, Ryder is graduating from NYU this spring and proud papa Chris did a bit of bragging on him at a Grammy viewing party last weekend. While talking to People, Chris shared that Ryder is considering getting into both acting and music after he graduates. He also weighed in on the obvious: his son being a nepo baby.
Chris, who is the lead singer of the rock band The Black Crowes, recently caught up with PEOPLE exclusively at Steven Tyler’s 7th Jam for Janie Grammy Awards Viewing Party in Hollywood, Calif. During the conversation, he shared that Ryder, 22, is gearing up to graduate from college — and is thinking about careers in both music and acting.
“He’s about to graduate from NYU this May. Very excited about that,” Chris, 59 said.
“I think he’s kind of leaning into maybe [pursuing] acting more, but he’s a very, very good singer, and he’s a really good guitar player, and he loves music. And, yeah, I just couldn’t be more proud of him,” he added.
And while Chris said he’s certainly proud of his son’s talent, he’s even more proud that he’s grown up to be “a good dude.”
“I mean, I love him no matter what, but I’ve always been impressed with my son. He’s a young man with great character. He’s very charming, very smart, very handsome, and the world really is his for whatever he wants to do. But underneath it all, I’m a proud dad because he’s a good dude in the world. And that’s really all you can really ask for,” he explained.
He also noted that Ryder already has experience in both industries, having grown up on movie sets with his mom Kate, 46, as well as on music tours with his dad.
“He grew up on sets with his mom. He grew up on the tour bus with me, and going on tour even in my solo project, which was a lot smaller scale,” Chris said.
As to whether this makes Ryder a “nepo baby”? Chris noted that following in the footsteps of one’s parents isn’t a new phenomenon, regardless of the industry.
“It used to be like, if your dad was a plumber, it was like, you know, Smith and Sons Plumbing. I don’t think it’s that horrible,” he said.
I laughed out loud a little bit when Chris gave the plumbing example because that’s exactly how Tom Hanks once phrased it, too. Ryan Phillippe also used that same reasoning when talking about his son with Reese Witherspoon. No one is saying that there is anything wrong with a kid wanting to be like their parents. It also doesn’t mean that they’re not talented enough to have an acting or singing career. It’s perfectly natural to want to get into the family business! But, just like with any family business, they’re going to have a leg up, whether it’s having connections in that industry, an already-established clientele, or financial security. It’s even more important when that industry is notoriously difficult to break into. Being Chris Robinson’s and Kate Hudson’s son and Goldie Hawn’s grandson is, at the very least, going to get you opportunities that people equally as talented and deserving may never get. The nepo baby label doesn’t have to be “horrible.” It’s just about acknowledging that privilege.
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photos credit Cobra Team/Backgrid, Faye Sadou/Avalon, IMAGO/Jeffrey Mayer/Avalon and Getty Images